Mónica Seidi announces that Regional Drug Observatory will begin to take shape later this year - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Saúde e Segurança Social

The Regional Secretary for Health and Social Security, Mónica Seidi, announced today that the Regional Drug Observatory ‘will begin to take shape this year’ with the reinforcement of the team at the Regional Directorate for the Prevention and Control of Dependencies on the island of São Miguel.

"It will be a valuable tool for knowledge production, allowing data to be collected by island, age group and risk type, contributing to a progressive fine-tuning of public policies adapted to the reality of each community. Its implementation will evolve through three distinct phases, requiring an external partner with knowledge of the area," she said.

The government official spoke at the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores during an urgent debate on chemical and technological dependencies.

Acknowledging that "there is a long way to go" in this field, Mónica Seidi stressed that "nothing could be further from the truth than to think that the Regional Government is not aware of this problem, although it is true that the results of the decisions taken are not always immediately visible."

"Coordination on the ground and working in a structured manner to avoid unnecessary duplication of services between the various institutions are challenges that arise naturally daily. We all need to do more. And to do so, it is also important that we are technically well supported to make the best decisions," she said.

She continued: "This problem is common to all societies, as the figures are currently rising again at a national and European level, and we all want to prevent this issue from becoming inevitable or even fatal for many people in the Autonomous Region of the Azores."

At the Parliament, the government official also stated that the "Regional Programme for the Reduction of Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies," which advocates intervention aligned with what the country and the European Union "consider to be fundamental for working in this area," will be presented publicly on June 27 at a session involving the regions of Macaronesia.

"These regions face common challenges when it comes to addictive behaviours, dependencies and mental health," she defended, adding that some of the programme's principles are based on a "citizen-centred approach" and "integrated intervention involving the entire community."

Regarding the task force created to address these addictions, Mónica Seidi stated that it is now preparing for its 12th meeting, to be held later this week, where "the implementation of supervised consumption rooms in the Region" will be analysed and discussed.

Moreover, the XIV Regional Government of the Azores has created a prevention centre on the island of São Miguel, composed of a psychologist, two sociologists and a pharmacist, who will work closely with the entities responsible for this area of activity.

"In addition to the increase in human resources, which will be effective throughout this year, the Regional Government also supported the creation of the Seeds of Change Prevention Team, through a protocol with the Desliga Association, which began this June. With this action, we can say that all the islands are covered by teams working in this area, with the "Haja Saúde" programme run by Casa de Povo de Santa Bárbara (community centre) and the +Saúde team from Santa Casa da Misericórdia de São Roque (charity) taking responsibility for intervention on the remaining islands," she continued.

She added: "To be clear, prevention is undoubtedly the best approach we must continue to take to prevent people from turning to drugs and ensure that each individual is aware of the choices they are making. As regards treatment, the main goal is to provide the entire population with timely access to integrated therapeutic responses. Integrated intervention means that the entire community is involved in the intervention process."