Belarusian experience of substitution therapy presented at an international event in Vienna
17.03.2023On March 16, 2023 the thematic event initiated by Belarus “Implementation of opioid substitution therapy in Belarus” took place on the margins of the 66th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. The event was organized by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Belarus to International Organizations in Vienna with the support of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and the UNODC.
In 2007, the Ministry of Health of Belarus launched a two-year pilot project on opioid substitution therapy. Currently, 654 people are participating in the opioid substitution therapy program. There are 20 substitution therapy rooms in 19 cities of the country. The main objectives of the program are harm reduction in terms of socialization of drug-addicted patients, improvement of their quality of life, prevention of repeated offenses and the spread of socially dangerous diseases, as well as assistance to patients in achieving stable remission.
The event attracted wide interest among the participants of the session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. The event was attended by representatives of diplomatic missions, heads and participants of national delegations, representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.
Permanent Representative of Belarus A. Dapkiunas noted in the welcoming speech that the event can be considered as a logical continuation of the thematic visit to Belarus of the delegations of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, organized in 2022 by the UNODC regional office in Central Asia with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.
Chief of HIV/AIDS Section & Global Coordinator for HIV/AIDS UNODC F. Soltani, the leadership of the Belarusian Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Mental Health, the Minsk Regional Clinical Center “Psychiatry-Narcology”, the Drug Control Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Scientific and Practical Center for Mental Health of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan made presentations during the event. Personal experience was presented by the Belarusian participant of the substitution therapy program.
Presentations to download: Belarusian Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Mental Health
Minsk Regional Clinical Center “Psychiatry-Narcology”
The participants of the event highly appreciated the substitution therapy program being implemented in Belarus, noted the importance of wide dissemination of national experience in this area, including psychosocial support of patients.
