Plans must be adaptable

National Anti-Drug Plans cannot be static and must be able to adapt to meet the needs of the changing environment.

 

That’s the view of Organisation of American States (OAS) Country Representative, Ambassador Francis McBarnette. He made the point while delivering remarks during the opening ceremony of the Barbados National Anti-Drug Plan 2017-2021, Consultation of National Stakeholders at the Savannah Beach hotel, yesterday morning, as he noted the Anti-Drug Plan is being implemented in a “very complex and ever changing environment”.

 

The OAS official said that apart from the old challenges faced by countries, there are new challenges which also have been addressed. These, he said, include the new potent synthetic drugs which are appearing on the market on a daily basis and organised criminal networks are also adapting strategies to grow and diversify the market.

 

“In short, national plans cannot be static in a dynamic environment. National Drug Plans will be effective only if they encourage collaboration, cooperation and joint action at all levels and are nibble enough to adapt to rapidly changing situations. To the stakeholders, I say this is your plan and you must make it work. We at the OAS and CICAD [Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission] will do all that we can to ensure that you succeed,” he said.

 

McBarnette noted that the central priority of CICAD is to strengthen the human and institutional capacity of member states and to channel their collective efforts to reduce the cultivation, production, trafficking and use of illegal drugs. He made the point as he explained that the “drug phenomenon” is multi-dimensional and affects numerous sectors. To that end, he said effective drug policies must be coherent at the national and regional levels and also take into consideration the economic, political and social dimensions that are peculiar to individual countries.

 

Meanwhile, delivering the featured address, Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs, Adriel Brathwaite said he was happy that Barbados had reached the stage of having a National Anti-Drug Plan, but he warned those present that the work is not done yet.

 

“We need to continue this fight, we need to save more of our young people,” he stated.

 

His comments came as he said that the National Anti-Drug Plan will ensure that the correct governance structure is in place and there is information flow, so that at the end of the day the country can move forward with policies that are in the best interest of its people. (JRT)