Briefing for Group of Latin American and Caribbean States on INCB Learning
Vienna, 31 October 2022 - At the invitation of the Permanent Mission of Guatemala to the United Nations (Vienna) on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC), INCB provided a briefing on the INCB Learning programme on 24 October 2022. The meeting, which was held in Spanish and in a hybrid format, was attended by representatives of Argentina, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Board Member Dr. Cesar Arce participated in the meeting with an introductory statement being made by Stefano Berterame, Chief of the Narcotics Control and Estimates Section of the INCB secretariat, who highlighted the importance of building drug control capacity with the ultimate aim of ensuring adequate availability of internationally controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes, an objective that is key to achieving SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
The INCB Learning coordinator briefed Member States on the work of the programme, its objectives, the tools available to drug controls officials and the work carried out since 2016 at the global level and, in particular, in the Latin American and Caribbean region. INCB Learning was launched in 2016 to support Member States towards full implementation of and full compliance with the international drug control conventions.
Member States thanked the secretariat for the briefing and called for a continuation of the programme, which benefits drug control officials from the region through regional training seminars, awareness raising workshops, regional webinars, e-modules and other available learning resources.
The Board is grateful for the contributions made by the Governments of Australia, Belgium, France, the Russian Federation, Thailand and the United States to the INCB Learning programme. These contributions have enabled the implementation of the activities of the INCB Learning global programme since 2016. Further support from Member States is required to sustain and expand project activities.