United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Brasilia, June 27th, 2023 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Secretariat on Drug Policies of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Senad/MJSP) announced the resumption and launch of the National System for Alcohol and Other Drugs Use Prevention (Sinap), besides presenting the System's virtual platform.

The announcement was made at the opening of the National Seminar on Prevention Research, which brought together researchers, managers and prevention professionals on 26 and 27 June in Brasilia. On the occasion, in addition to the launch of Sinap, participants were able to build recommendations for the four-year period between 2023 and 2026, based on the experiences acquired by internationally recognized prevention programs. 

Through videoconference, the UNODC Representative in Brazil, Elena Abbati, highlighted the importance of research initiatives like the Seminar for cooperation and the strengthening of evidence-based actions. "The problems associated with the use of alcohol and other drugs continue to affect thousands of people around the world, as pointed out in the UNODC World Drug Report 2023, also released today," she added. Among other findings, the report shows that one in 17 people worldwide have used drugs in the last 12 months, representing a 23% increase compared with the previous decade. Check out the full report. 

The National Secretary for Drug Policies, Marta Machado, emphasized the importance of prevention programs and licit alternatives for people in vulnerable situations involved in drug trafficking, given this scenario. "Within a drug policy focused on people, there must be programs to strengthen social protection, family and community ties and, therefore, investment in the resilience of people and communities to deal with both the problem of substance abuse and the harassment of organized crime," she said.

Sinap

The National System for Alcohol and Other Drugs Use Prevention (Sinap), implemented by Senad with the support of UNODC and UNDP, aims to integrate and coordinate evidence-based prevention policies at the three federal levels.

The System will bring together investments in research, promotion of the implementation of prevention programs and qualification of information and professionals who work in the field. Initially, Sinap's action plan provides for the dissemination of prevention programs in the 163 municipalities considered a priority under the National Public Security and Citizenship Programme (Pronasci 2).

Sinap also has a virtual platform that will facilitate the implementation of the System and the exchange of information throughout the country, making available different materials to support preventive actions by managers and professionals in the area, such as scientific productions, publications, campaigns, and audiovisual resources.

Thematic discussions

Sinap's online platform was the theme of the panel on "Promoting Prevention Systems", in which Caio Incrocci, technical analyst in Drug Use Prevention at Sinap's implementation support project, presented the resources already available on the platform and those that will be made available in the future.

This same panel included the participation of Wadih Maalouf, Programme Manager of the Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section of UNODC Vienna, who presented the necessary components for the implementation of a national prevention system, bringing evaluation parameters for the improvement of these initiatives.

Giovanna Campello, Chief of the Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section at UNODC Vienna, also contributed to the discussions at the Seminar. In the panel "Alcohol and other drugs use prevention based on evidence", Campello brought highlights of the latest edition of the World Drug Report. She also presented central elements of the international standards on drug use prevention.