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INTEGRATED DRUG AWARENESS AND PREVENTION PROJECT CONCEPT PAPER I. INTRODUCTION: Everyone is aware of the harmful influence of drugs and its negative impact on societies and communities. Various discussions have been held by government officials at all levels: from heads of state to local authorities, national and international envoys, and the world's leaders. However, drug trafficking, exploitation, trading and the use of drugs are becoming a huge problem in almost all societies around the world. There was a report from researcher who studied the impact of drug usage amongst children of a school-going age out and in school groups. It found that 88.30% of these children attended primary school. Only 20% of them continued to secondary school, based on the records of the 2002-2003 school year. According to records, the school dropout rate was 11.20% in 1998–1999, whereas in 2002–2003 it was 13.80% for primary schools and 26.32% for secondary schools. This means that at least 58% of the children did not complete primary school. The anti-drug national authority reported in 2003 that the authority confiscated 209,527 tablets of ATS in 184 cases and arrested 349 suspects. In 2004, 860,960 tablets of ATS were confiscated, which equals to 209 cases and 480 suspects were arrested. The report failed to reveal how many of these cases were judged by the court. "The secretary general of the anti-drug national authority, as well as the Royal Government of Kingdom of Cambodia, admitted that drug abuse is a critical and complicated issue that cannot be solved by a sole institution, or an NGO. It is not an individual’s problem, but ours as a nation. We have to find a solution, together with the involvement and mobilization of communities, local and international NGO's, and the Government", stated Mr. Teng Savong. He said that according to an official report, the number of drug addicts have increased since the year 2000. In 2000 there were only 591 drug addicts, 925 persons in 2001, 2,750 persons in 2002, 4,387 persons in 2003, and then an increase to 5,502 in 2004. But the actual drug usage figures have not been recorded and it is impossible to keep track, as it continually spreads across the whole country. Mr Naveth, regional representative of the RIANDAC project in Thailand, stated that the drug problem in Thailand might be greater than in Cambodia, but that their officials paid much more attention to it. He continued that it was hard to change the attitude of the youth at this time, because drugs were a new era problem, but that it is very important to work together to help the children and youth see alternatives, as well as the negative consequences of drug abuse. We have to work together to share information on drug trafficking. This eventually may help us solve the drug issue. One of the main challenges in an attempt to develop and implement 'Drug Awareness and Prevention' in Cambodia is the lack of information on the nature and extent of drug use and abuse. Thus, this project aim is to firstly examine substance use and substance use issues within the NW region of Cambodia. This information will then be used to examine the ¨ applicability of a multi-sectorial drug prevention programme within a Cambodian context, as well as developing an appropriate and effective 'Public Awareness Campaign' and resources. Expected outcomes include an accurate and realistic understanding of drug use and drug related issues; reduction in drug use and drug related harm; increased education and awareness amongst school age children and their parents; development of appropriate resources; identification of strategies and further options to reduce drug use and related harm. Implementation strategies will be determined according to their perceived sustainability, elaboration of 'best practice' standards, the degree of local participation and the inclusion of measures to overcome anticipated obstacles. The project will not be involved in secondary intervention or supply-reduction activities, rather a focus on 'Primary Intervention' and preventative actions, before drug use becomes a problem, within the broader area of both demand and harm reduction and the reduction. This proposal is in alliance with 'The Plan of Action of the World Summit for Children' (Section F: Illicit drug abuse and drug trafficking) in terms of recognizing the need for:
II. PROJECT DETAILS
The proposed project goals are to examine the applicability of a 'multi-sectoral' drug prevention strategy in the Cambodian context. Drugs and drug-related problems are complex and often controversial. Consequently, primary interest is: The lessons gained from the experience of implementing the proposed project could serve as a basis to help determine the need and framework for a larger drug-prevention project, and the ability to design such a project. The project would not support drug treatment facilities for secondary drug users. Nor would it support supply-reduction-related activities including: Instead the project will concentrate on identifying, addressing and reducing: The project further aims to assess the effectiveness of participatory management for drug prevention and thus the notion of sustainability, will be considered and incorporated throughout the entirety of the project. There are four actual 'Project Objectives' as the following: Project performance would be assessed based on the quantity and quality of information generated by the project and the sustainability of the systems and approaches established. Key performance indicators would include: In Cambodia, as in many countries, drug prevention activities should pay close attention to young people. Most experts agree that the group with the highest prevalence of drug use is young people from 10-30 years old. Given the limited availability of ongoing resources, it is essential that resources are targeted and directed toward the area that will 'be of greatest good'. Thus the following three criteria have been identified: In terms of the above three criteria, school age children (aged between 12–18 years) address all areas. Research suggests that drug users in the 15-20 year range often use drugs on an irregular, non-intensive basis, however regular, or intensive use is evident in the 20-30 age brackets. Thus, early intervention is desirable to prevent progression to the stages at which there is more intense use of drugs. In terms of vulnerability, it has also been shown that there is an increased 'risk' for the unemployed and poor. The two targeted provinces of Battambang and Beateay Meanchey have an unemployment rate higher than that of the national average and experience a higher rate of both primary and secondary school 'drop-out'. In remote provincial areas, enrollment rate has been found to be even lower than 50% in primary schools, thus contributing to increased poverty. The project is primarily aimed at school age children in the North-West Cambodian region. It is estimated there is approximately 63,000 school age children (aged between 10 – 19 years) in this region. The area includes the two provinces of Battambang and Beateay Meanchey. Within these two areas there are approximately 97 high schools. The project targets local community members, including municipal authorities and local institutions, such as schools, hospitals/clinics and youth groups. The primary target group of school age children further identifies a number of other groups including: III. PROJECT BUDGET REQUIRED:
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Cambodian Vision in Development
Battambang, Cambodia