World Drug Report 2020: https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/index.html
Dianova International
https://www.dianova.org/campaigns/addiction-services-are-essential-services/
While about one third of all people who use drugs are estimated to be women, the latter are consistently reported to be at higher risk of HIV and other infections and more at risk of experiencing intimate partner violence than women in the broader population. This phenomenon is also likely to be exacerbated in these times of crisis.
Time to Recognize Addiction Services as Essential Services
Covid-19 crisis has affected our health systems revealing dysfunctions that have affected the most vulnerable people, and among them people who use drugs.
In order to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, on June 26, Dianova launches an international campaign to raise awareness of the need that addiction services be on par with other healthcare services and that they be given similar levels of attention and support.
Addiction disorders are a public health issue
The consequences of the pandemic had, and are still having, negative effects on people with substance use disorders or in recovery.
Yet, in many countries, authorities have been able to give addiction services only very little support.
In some cases, health systems initially thought of as solid have been unable to provide these professionals with basic personal protection equipment or financial support to buy them. Be that as it may, our addiction professionals have been carrying out their duties with intellect and integrity despite these difficult and often dangerous circumstances, providing vulnerable people with appropriate counselling and support. They kept on working.
This anniversary provides a perfect occasion for us to step up and demand that addiction services be on par with other healthcare services and that they be given similar levels of attention and support. Should another crisis of this nature arise, addiction services shouldn’t be the poor relation of the public health system any longer.
Substance use and other addictive disorders are a matter of public health and addiction services should therefore be considered as essential.
When everything is on pause, some of us must go on.
Just one among many lessons, this pandemic is teaching us the pressing need to reaffirm and uphold the universal Right to Health. Leaving No one Behind, as per the Agenda 2030, is today an even more relevant imperative towards building a world in which all people have an equal opportunity to attain the highest possible standard of health and well-being.
Lastly, this campaign is an opportunity for us to pay warm tribute to the hard work, dedication, and innovative attitudes of all addiction professionals in these times of doubt and emergency.
THE SITUATION
According to the World Drug Report 2019, some 35 million people, up from an earlier estimate of 30.5 million reported in 2016, are affected by drug use disorders and require treatment and harm reduction services. The latest available data also indicates a staggering death toll: 585,000 people died as a result of drug use in 2017.
The challenges engendered by stay-at-home orders are likely to have had negative effects on people with substance use disorders or in recovery, including increased drug or alcohol consumption, risks of overdose, and relapse.
As emphasized in a report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, people who use drugs face additional risks of infection by Covid-19 as compared to the general population, because of lifestyle factors and pre-existing health problems.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health pointed out the need to recognize vulnerable groups of people who use drugs as a high-risk population in order to mitigate the spread of the pandemic.
WOMEN WHO USE DRUGS ARE MORE AT RISK
While about one third of all people who use drugs are estimated to be women, the latter are consistently reported to be at higher risk of HIV and other infections and more at risk of experiencing intimate partner violence than women in the broader population. This phenomenon is also likely to be exacerbated in these times of crisis.
OTHER MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
It is estimated that one in four people in the world will be affected by mental health disorders at some point in their lives placing such disorders among the leading causes of ill health and disability worldwide. This situation seems to have been worsened by the pandemic: lockdown measures and resulting economic downturn have negatively affected many people’s mental health and created new barriers for people already suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders.
OBJECTIVE OF CAMPAIGN
Launched on the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, on 26 June, the campaign ‘Time to recognize that addiction services are essential” aims to raise awareness of this fact while promoting the frontline role of social and health professionals in supporting the most vulnerable populations during the pandemic.
Извор: WUNRN – 01.07.2020
