INCB Learning holds seminar for national drug regulatory authorities from Latin America and the Caribbean
VIENNA, 14 February 2023 - Under its capacity-building global programme, INCB Learning, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is holding a training seminar for competent national authorities from Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. The training is being held in collaboration with the Government of El Salvador and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) of the Organization of American States (OAS), to support drug control officials in implementing the international drug control conventions.
Welcoming remarks were made by César Tomás Arce Rivas, INCB Second Vice-President, H.E. Francisco Alabí Montoya, Minister of Health of El Salvador, H.E Adriana Mira, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador, Noe Geovanni García, National Director of Medicines, National Directorate of Medicines of El Salvador, Juan Carlos Roncal, OAS Representative in El Salvador, Adam E. Namm, Executive Secretary of CICAD, and Nayelly Loya, Head, UNODC programme office in El Salvador.
Government officials will participate in 18 sessions of training, which have been designed to expand knowledge of the provisions of the international drug control treaties and build capacity for improved treaty implementation. Subjects studied include the preparation of estimates of narcotic drugs and assessments on psychotropic substances, methodologies for collecting consumption data on psychotropic substances and precursor control. A workshop on how to improve the availability of internationally controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes brought together specialists from Governments, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and WHO on 13 February.
This in-person seminar builds on the content of e-modules developed by INCB Learning on the international drug control framework and the control of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals. Training participants need to complete these e-modules before attending the seminar. The INCB Learning e-modules are currently available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. To date, 1,394 officials from 152 countries and territories have enrolled in these e-modules.
To support Governments in their implementation of the treaties, INCB Learning has developed a FAQs tool which is available in English, French, Russian and Spanish. The FAQs tool provides guidance on the most pertinent issues relating to regulatory control and monitoring of the licit trade in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals. The tool also contains a practical table with reporting deadlines, guidelines, and links to all INCB forms.
INCB Learning has been made possible so far through financial and in-kind contributions from the Governments of Australia, Belgium, El Salvador, France, the Russian Federation, Thailand, the United States of America and CICAD.
Building drug control capacity to ensure the adequate availability of internationally controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes is at the core of the work of INCB Learning, and key to achieving SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
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For further information, please contact:
INCB secretariat
(+43-1) 26060 4163
incb.secretariat[at]un.org
www.incb.org