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may 2010 - official presentation of eu-funded dianova project

"Addiction, Gender and Decentralization Holistic Program - Community-Based Organizations Join to Combat Substance

On May 26, the Uruguayan government officially presented to the press the "Addiction, Gender and Decentralization Holistic Program", which will soon be co-developed by Foundation Dianova and the Casa Lunas Association. The program will benefit from the support of the Uruguayan National Council on Drugs and funding provided by the European Union

During 2009 the European Union Delegation to Uruguay announced a Request-for –Proposals implemented by community-based NGOs which were designed to achieve selected UN Millennium Development Goals (read article). Dianova and Casa Lunassubmitted a joint project which was eventually selected by the EU delegation.

On May 26th of 2010, the program was officially presented to concerned officials and agencies at the Montevideo Estévez palace by Mr. Milton Romani, Secretary-General of the National Council on Drugs, accompanied by Ms. Fabiana Barrios and Mr. Jordi Alos, executive managers of the Casa Lunas and Dianova associations respectively and Mr. Geoffrey Barret, head of the European Union Delegation to Uruguay.

A gender-related approach to this issue is one of the main specifics of the project, which will consider the higher vulnerability of women to addiction-related risks. It will address issues such as women's health and quality of life, and that of youth who are socially and/or psychologically at-risk, with a particular focus on gender discrepancies, inappropriate use of drugs and the risk factor of adolescent maternity in poverty situations.

The project will be developed jointly by Foundation Dianova and the Casa Lunas Association over the course of 36-months and will consist of the preparation of 155 day-workshops dedicated to addressing a variety of issues. Its primary objective will be to provide professionals with the skills best suited to proper healthcare and follow-up, including organizing intervention modalities and coordinating requests for treatment throughout the healthcare networks.

Eventually, the objective is to implement the program nationwide in order to be able to reach out to the country's rural population groups, whose access to health services is usually poor.  The program will be closely connected with local institutions and partners, such as the 19 Local Councils on Drugs and the training centers operated by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Approximately 700 socially-vulnerable adolescents and young adults will benefit directly from the enhanced health care benefits provided by the project, while more than 700 healthcare professionals will receive more advanced training

The Casa Lunas Association endeavors to provide adolescent mothers and fathers, and their dependent children up to 2 years of age, with appropriate support and follow-up. The association operates an outpatient center and a center dedicated to education and vocational training.

The Dianova Foundation in Uruguay is a not-for-profit NGO dedicated to social development. It creates a variety of educational programs, in addition to residential and outpatient drug treatment programs. The Dianova Foundation offers two residential programs, one for adults and another for adolescents. The center for adolescents operates under an agreement by the Uruguayan Institute of the Child and the Adolescent(INAU)

Read the complete article on the Uruguayan government's web site (in the Spanish language)

Excerpt from the comments of Mr. Geoffrey Barret, Head of EU Delegation

"The project was created as a response to some of the problems which were identified by the Dianova team. Substance use is a complex, multifaceted issue which is subject to the personal characteristics of each individual, as well as those of their environment, in addition to the risk factors generated and then perpetuated by the substance abuse problem.

"Dianova dedicated itself to designing, implementing and evaluating a nationwide project likely to fulfill the specific necessities relative to various addiction-related problems. The project will be implemented jointly by local, voluntary institutions and formal social agencies, either within non-formal systems and/or those formally dedicated to benefitting socially vulnerable populations.

"The primary objective of the project is to promote global health and the quality of life of women, men and adolescents of both genders who are in a situation of psychosocial vulnerability, while emphasizing gender discrepancy situations, problematic psychoactive substance use, motherhood and fatherhood among disadvantaged youth, with a focus on a gender perspectives and the human rights."

Read Mr Barret's complete comments (pdf document in Spanish)