26 / 68
Gilberto Gerra, MD, Chief of the Drug Prevention and Health
Branch under the UNODC Division for Operations, who is a
prominent scientist in the fight against addiction, says, “UNODC
envisages that Green Crescent will play a stronger leadership role
at an international level in the coming years.”
Could you tell us where the world
stands on substance abuse?
Drug dependence is recognized as
a multifactorial complex health
disorder with a specific pathogenesis
that is both preventable and treatable.
The former frameworks in which
substance use was viewed as a crime,
as a moral failure, as a recreational
activity or as a social trend no longer
apply.
Following the Special Session of the
United Nations General Assembly
on the World Drug Problem in 2016,
the
member
states
recognized
the importance of taking a health
perspective regarding drug use
and drug use disorders, and made
a
commitment
to
“promoting
the
health,
welfare
and
well-
being of all individuals, families
and communities as a whole, and
facilitating healthy lifestyles through
effective, comprehensive, scientific
evidence-based demand reduction
initiatives at all levels ...” (UNGASS
Outcome Document, pg. 4). This is
an indication of the bridge that has
been built between science, drug
policy and practice, resulting in more
comprehensive services for patients
and clients around the world.
What is being done to protect global
public health, and what is planned
for the future?
Overthelast12years,theUnitedNations
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
has worked in over 50 countries to
further guide the development of
experts and professionals in the field
of addiction medicine, and has piloted
evidence-based prevention programs
for schools and families. This has
been done through the development of
documents to guide practice, such as
the International Standards on Drug
Use Prevention and the International
Standards for the Treatment of Drug
Use Disorders, done in partnership
with the World Health Organization.
In addition, UNODC has increased
the capacity of policy makers and
practitioners
through
countless
training and leadership programs.
With the global shift to a health
perspective, the Member States have
begun to move from a sanction-
oriented and punitive approach to
a healthcare and social protection
approach, and UNODC has facilitated
an approach that highlights a
continuumof careorientedtorecovery,
responding to the specific needs of the
person affected in the different stages
of the disease. Member states must
shift from interventions carried out in
isolation to an approach integrating
psychosocial and pharmacological
methods, involving personalized and
differentiated strategies. In support
of this shift, UNODC encourages
effective interventions at every stage
of the continuum of care, including
the provision of technical assistance
to member states in the areas of
overdose prevention, disseminating
a
handbook
highlighting
best
practices, and providing alternatives
to incarceration and punishment for
people with drug use disorders.
Interview by: Fatıma Aydın
GILBERTO GERRA, MD:
“GREEN CRESCENT
ADVANCES ALONG
THE PATH TO BECOMING A
STRONG GLOBAL LEADER”
Gilberto Gerra, MD, was born in Parma,
Italy. He completed his university
studies at the Parma University School
of Medicine. He is currently working
as an internist and endocrinologist.
During his professional career he has
lectured at numerous universities in
Italy in the field of addiction medicine,
neuroendocrinology and clinical
pharmacology. He worked at the Drug
Addiction Treatment Center in Parma
between 1982 and 2003, and served
as a Director of the institution from
1995 to 2003, and in the same period
he served also as the Director of the
Addiction Research Centre in Parma.
He then went on to become the
Director of the National Observatory
on Drugs in the Prime Minister’s Office,
Rome, Italy, and was a Member of
International Narcotics Control Board
(INCB) at the United Nations, Vienna.
Since 2007, he has served as the Chief
of the Drug Prevention and Health
Branch, Division for Operations, United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in
Vienna.
ABOUT GILBERTO GERRA, MD
24