UN, WHO propose to Brazil joint program for treating drug addicts

Representatives of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday proposed that the Brazilian government develop a joint program to promote treatment and comprehensive and humane care of drug and alcohol users.

The representative of the Brazilian Health Ministry's Department on Programmatic Actions and Strategies, Jose Luiz Telles, said that Brazil has already achieved a reasonable level of assistance to users, but is always looking forward to improving.

At the same time, he considered the international cooperation crucial because it means unifying efforts in pursuit of measures to reduce, for example, crack use in the country, one of the problems that most concern the authorities of the sector.

In his turn, the representative of UNODC Regional Office for Brazil and Southern Cone, Bo Mathiesen, recalled that the various drug addictions are treatable, but often users are marginalized.

Source: Xinhua