President Piñera highlights his administration’s commitment to the fight against drugs
The President met with experts from Iceland who have developed a successful model for the prevention of drug use. Chile is the first country in the Americas to implement it.
President Sebastián Piñera held a meeting on Wednesday with the Planet Youth team from the Icelandic Center for Social Research and Analysis, which created a model that reduced drug use in Iceland to the lowest level in Europe within a 20-year period.
“Chile has decided to take the bull by the horns in its fight against drug use,” said the President, accompanied by Interior and Public Security Minister, Andrés Chadwick, and National Director of SENDA (National Service for the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Drug and Alcohol Use), Carlos Charme.
In April, the President introduced the Elige Vivir Sin Drogas (Choose to Live Without Drugs) program, which is based on the Icelandic model. It seeks to decrease drug and alcohol consumption in children and teenagers by strengthening their social contexts and emphasizing the fundamental role of the family.
The plan includes limiting the visibility of alcohol and other drugs, building the capacities of the adults responsible for the care of children, increasing sports and artistic activities, promoting people’s capacity to be a social agent in the prevention of consumption, and improving the State’s monitoring capacity.
The model includes an initial stage of community assessment, leading on to a programmatic and intervention structure and a subsequent monitoring and evaluation of results.
“We are also fighting drug use, especially in children and young people, with all our strength,” said the President.
The program has started to be deployed in 50 districts throughout Chile.