The appeal was made by Beverly Reynolds, programme manager for sustainable development at the CARICOM Secretariat. She was addressing a think tank at the Jamaica Information Service's Half-Way-Tree Road, St Andrew, headquarters on Wednesday.

Speaking two days before the observance of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Reynolds said governments, non-governmental organisations and international partners must come together to develop a far-reaching and long-term approach to the issue of substance abuse.

"The manifestations might be in the health sector as it is now with drug addiction, but the problem cuts across all sectors.

"It's a social problem and an economic problem and so we have to tackle it from that angle," she said.

Seek support

She advised persons using illicit drugs to seek support and treatment, noting that the longer people stay in treatment the better the outcome.

Executive director of the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA), Michael Tucker, said the council has been actively educating young people against taking illicit drugs and how to use legal substances such as alcohol, responsibly.

He said recent access to funding from the European Union through the CARICOM Secretariat has facilitated numerous priority initiatives, including public education, treatment and rehabilitation of at-risk groups, and research to inform programmes and capacity building of staff involved in drug abuse prevention and treatment.

The NCDA, he said, continues to work in communities through clinics, supported by the National Health Fund, and has partnered with 10 NGOs in targeted areas to deliver counselling for substance abusers and persons affected by HIV or trauma.