India: UNODC showcases Family Skills Programme at state-level multi-stakeholder consultation in Mizoram 

Aizawl, Mizoram, India/12 October 2022: As part of its overall response to drug control and violence reduction, UNODC has developed and spearheaded the flagship Family Skills programme, aimed at reducing risks of drug use and risky behaviours among young people. The initiative builds on evidence-based prevention, especially relying on improving family functioning, bonding and communication. Over the last several years, the universal family skills programme has been piloted in low and middle-income countries.

In this context, a state-level multistakeholder consultation for key government departments was conducted at Aizawl, Mizoram in Northeast India, in collaboration with Department of Social Welfare and Tribal Affairs. With the consultation, UNODC showcased the Family Skills Programme and discussed cooperation on implementing the same in India’s Northeastern region.

Officials from several government departments, including the Department of Social Welfare, Department of Education, Department of Health, Women and Child Development and civil society groups participated in the discussions.

Opening the consultation, the Secretary, Department of Social Welfare and Tribal Affairs, Mizoram highlighted the important initiatives taken by the Government of Mizoram for drug prevention in the state and welcomed the important initiatives by UNODC.

UNODC Criminal Justice Expert Ms. Seema Joshi Arya introduced UNODC’s efforts in the areas of drug use prevention and treatment, highlighting the Family Skills initiative, the Listen First initiative and Family Therapy for adolescents. This was followed by open discussion, assessing the impact of these initiatives on drug use prevention among children.

Participants emphasised the need to scale up such initiatives across all districts of Mizoram.

This activity contributes to SDG 3 and 16: https://sdg-tracker.org/

(Supported by the Government of Sweden)