The research, conducted by UNODC for the first time outside Europe which involved about 1,900 teams from the Psychosocial Care Network and Therapeutic Communities in 184 municipalities, revealed that five times the amount of care is required for patients impacted by alcohol use than by crack.

André Longo, the Secretary of Health, highlighted that "Health and violence are complex issues, they are interconnected and overload the health system. That is why the Pernambuco government decided to sign this partnership with UN agencies that have deep experience and global knowledge on this issue,".

"The State of Pernambuco sought the best practices in the world in preventing drug use and violence and science-based policies," said the Secretary of Planning and Management, Alexandre Rebêlo.

Speaking about the Pernambuco Cooperation programme, the Secretary for Drug and Violence Prevention Policies, Cloves Benevides, said that "the partnership is the result of a management for results implemented by the local government in order to assess impacts, prospect new paths, evaluate attempts made in other places whose results are adaptable to the reality of Pernambuco, but also look at the specifics of the challenges of public safety in the state.”

"Long-term technical planning will enable qualified monitoring of results to ensure that children, teenagers, and youth, especially those living in contexts of marginalization and poverty, can fully develop their potentialities for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda," concluded UNODC Brazil Representative Elena Abbati.

The event was also attended by representatives of the three participating United Nations agencies, and SPVD's partners.

Learn more about UNODC's initiatives in the area of drug prevention and treatment here.