Improving quality of Drug Use Disorders Treatment Services
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A two-day consultative meeting was conducted by the UNODC designated "Regional Capacity Building and Research Centre", the Iranian National Centre for Addiction Studies (INCAS) in Tehran on 4 and 5 February 2020. The constitutive meeting aimed at strengthening implementation of the science and evidence-based treatment of drug use disorders, and promoting UNODC/WHO International Standards of Drug use disorders treatment through reviewing of availed services in outpatient drug use disorders treatment centres and the applicability of the international standards in daily routine services provided.
The meetings was attended by Iranian academia, physicians, counsellors, directors, managers and authorities working in the field of the treatment of substance use disorders. Dr Afarin Rahimi Movaghar, Head of INCAS, was the first speaker and gave an overview of the international standards of drug use disorders treatment and emphasized the significance of applying these standards for improving quality of treatment services. Her speech was followed by a panel discussion with the participation of Dr Mehdi Shadnoosh, Head of the Centre of the Organ Transplant Administration and Disease Treatment; Ministry of Health and Medical Education; Dr Farid Barati Sedeh, Deputy of the Centre for Addiction Prevention and Treatment, State Welfare Organisation; and Dr Mehrzad Tashakorian, Director General of Health and Treatment of the Prisons Organisation and guided by Dr Azarakhsh Mokri, INCAS Deputy on Training and head of the clinical Sciences department of the centre. Dr Mokri asked the panellists to discuss their views on drug treatment services under the aspect of complex systems requiring standards from one side and flexibility on the other, where the panellist brought-up their views on the strengths and weaknesses of existing services and outlined their views on the most important areas for improvement.
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Mr. Alexander Fedulov, UNODC Iran Country Representative welcomed the audience and expressed his gratitude that the very first official meeting of the designated regional centre has been held following the inauguration ceremony in December. He reiterated that drug use disorders treatment programmes in Iran are one of the most expanded programmes with over a million Iranians receiving treatment services in various settings and based on different methodologies. He further emphasised that the significance of applying the international standards in this vast context is even more pronounced and evident than in many to other countries.
The two-day consultations gave the opportunity for discussion among various interlocutors of drug use disorders treatment in Iran on identifying practical recommendations for improving of the quality of services in outpatient drug treatment centres in the country.