Twenty-two years of experience and dedicated work have brought the Association for the Prevention of Addiction NARKO-NE to the position of the leading organization in BiH, and in the Western Balkans in the field of addiction prevention. Applying scientifically based and effective preventive methods in its work, this organization increases the importance of investments in prevention and health promotion, to reduce costs in the rehabilitation and treatment of addiction diseases.
During nine trainings on the European Prevention Curriculum (EUPC) in Sarajevo, Tuzla, Mostar, Banja Luka, Travnik, Brčko, Livno and Bihać, NARKO-NE encouraged the re-examination of opinions in 160 practitioners, experts, decision-makers, policy makers, to ask whether what is being done in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of addiction prevention truly provides results or if many methods are outdated, ineffective and even harmful towards the end users, primarily children and young people. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, significant funds are allocated at various levels for the so-called prevention programs for most of which we have no evidence or indicators that they are efficient and lead to positive changes.
However, the implementation of training from the European Prevention Curriculum created a completely different climate and ultimately the whole process resulted in the decision of the Government of FBiH to develop the First Comprehensive Strategy for Prevention of Addiction in FBiH for the period 2024-2034. The Federation Ministry of Education and Science is competent for coordinating the work of the Working Group together with NARKO-NE and ensuring the conditions for the development of the strategy.
What I thought I knew about preventive programs was shown to me in a completely different light, especially which intervention procedures are effective, and which can be harmful. We will try to integrate everything that I heard about the European Prevention Curriculum into one very important document. Namely, the Government of the Federation of BiH adopted the initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Science and the NARKO-NE Association, to make the first comprehensive integrated strategy on the prevention of addiction, so for the first time such a document will be prepared at the level of the Federation of BiH. – Nadija Bandić, assistant minister in the Federal Ministry of Education and Science, participant in EUPC training.
NARKO-NE will provide professional and technical support throughout the process, and the strategy will be based on the European Prevention Framework, which will bring the Federation of BiH, with an existing high-risk exposure to addiction, closer to European standards.
This is the first strategy that deals with the causes of addiction, with a special focus on the protection of children and young people, and the duration of the strategy speaks of the need for such a single document that will ensure long-term results.
The public sector is the main factor in ensuring the public health of citizens, and NARKO-NE has set clear and high-quality standards in this area. Joint action will bring much greater and more useful benefits for the entire society in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The NARKO-NE addiction prevention association is supported by the SMART Balkans CORE grant.
