TEHRAN –  Brigadier General Hossein Zolfaqari, Secretary General of the Iranian Drug Control Headquarters (DCHQ), and Dorina Andreev-Jitaro, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Iran, have underscored the need for developing educational programs to prevent addiction among children and teenagers.

During a meeting held on Tuesday, Zolfaqari lauded UNICEF’s efforts and measures, particularly parenting, holding training courses for counselors, academics, and health experts, in some target provinces. The official said  “we are currently developing a set of guidelines, centered around eight main topics, for the treatment of drug addiction,” Mehr news agency reported.

Referring to previous collaborations between the two organizations, Zolfaqari announced the headquarters' readiness to promote cooperation with nongovernmental organizations, associations, and member organizations to contribute to the development of UNICEF educational programs in chosen provinces.

The official also mentioned the establishment of a regional center for the treatment of drug abuse disorders in Iran in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and proposed to benefit from this capacity to boost joint efforts. UNICEF and Iran can exchange experiences in preventing and treating drug addiction and later share them with reputable international organizations.

The official highlighted the role of education in preventing addiction. He proposed establishing a joint committee on drug prevention and putting collaborative measures, such as training of trainers, at the top of the agenda.

Developing a partnership model

In May, Zolfaqari and Monika Oledzka Nielson, the   UNICEF ad interim Representative in Iran, underscored the need for the development of a cooperative model between the two organizations to be able to realize joint objectives and enhance the efficiency of collaborative measures.

According to Zolfaqari, to be able to conduct joint efforts more effectively, the required measures and the responsibilities of different institutions, ministries, organizations, universities, families, and trainers should be clarified. Moreover, specific feasible provincial measures have to be taken, IRNA reported.

Highlighting the existing motivations, capacities, and public participation in carrying out major actions, Zolfaqari said the goal is to provide platforms to further benefit from existing capacities.

The official went on to laud UNICEF’s measures in Iran, saying that the measures, which have focused on training individuals, positive parenting, preventing addiction in educational centers of prisons organizations, improving mental health, empowering youths, particularly girls, and holding training courses for non-governmental organizations and their managers, have yielded positive results.

DCHQ and UNICEF will soon publish a book on guidelines and protocols for the treatment of addiction, and “We seek to further boost ties with UNICEF,” Zolfaqari further noted.

Nielson, for her part, commended DCHQ’s efforts, saying that it would have been almost impossible to implement any of these actions without DCHQ’s support. Within recent years, UNICEF has adopted different measures to address youths’ health and well-being of its target population.

Referring to the MASERAT or APSWEC (Adolescent Psychosocial Wellbeing and Empowerment Centre) program, which helps at-risk adolescents to protect themselves, build resilience, and practice self-care against social harms such as drug abuse and HIV, the official said the program has been conducted jointly by UNICEF and DCHQ. The positive outcomes have encouraged the two organizations to expand the implementation of the program nationwide as a long-term goal. Developed by DCHQ, the program focuses on prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and combating the entry and supply of drugs.

MT/MG