The original article can be found in: The Guardian By Shane D. Williams
Health officials and NGO representatives from 13 countries are in Belize for the Pan American Health Organization’s Sub-Regional Meeting on Development of Alcohol Policy for English-speaking Caribbean countries.
Esner Vellos, Director of the National Drug Abuse Control Council, said, “The purpose of the meeting is to build technical cooperation between policy makers and representatives of non-governmental organizations in the region.” He continued, “At the end of the meeting, we should be much closer to a regional policy aimed at reducing the consumption and demand for alcohol in the region.”
According to the World Health Organization, “Alcohol consumption is the third largest risk factor for disease and disability; in middle income countries it is the greatest risk.” The WHO also attributes 4% of all deaths worldwide to alcohol. That is more than HIV/AIDS and violence. It is with that in mind that the Ministers of Health from the member states of the WHO approved a global strategy to reduce alcohol-related problems in 2010. In 2011, a plan of action was adopted by member states in which it was established that PAHO will be responsible for the coordination of a regional response by strengthening technical cooperation among nations. From 2012 to 2021, the five main objectives of the plan of action are to raise awareness and political commitment; to improve the knowledge base on the magnitude of problems and on the effectiveness of intervention disaggregated by sex and ethnic group; increase technical support to member states; strengthen partnerships and improve monitoring and surveillance systems and; dissemination of information for advocacy, policy development and evaluation.
Vellos said that Belize was recently awarded $1 million in funding from Grant Challenge Canada for a 3-year programme in which alcohol use in Belize will be closely monitored and analyzed. Vellos said the National Drug Abuse Control Council will be working with PAHO and the Psychiatric Unit of the Ministry of Health to record the extent of alcohol use in Belize with the goal of developing strategies to decrease demand and introduce detoxification services. One example he gives is when there is a car accident involving a drunk driver. In those incidents, the individual is treated for the injuries but there is no treatment for the cause of accident which is alcohol abuse. Vellos hopes for a system to be adopted in which those incidents are properly addressed. Vellos and Eleanor Bennett, Head of the Psychiatric Unit of the Ministry of Health, will be the principal investigators in the program. It is the first of such comprehensive research on alcohol use in the Caribbean region.
