Cuba is moving forward in the creation of the National Drug Observatory (NDO), with the purpose of maintaining active surveillance in the epidemiological, health and security fields on new psychoactive substances and on the phenomenon of emerging drugs, and to provide evidence for the design of policies in the area of demand reduction and control of drug supply.
Likewise, its goal is to quickly alert about changes in the drug phenomenon, in order to minimize the risks associated with them.
In statements to Granma, Alexis Batista Segrera, director of International Relations of the Ministry of Justice (Minjus), explained that the NDO's role is to provide its national users with information considered essential to formulate policies and the organization of drug-related services, as well as data on issues of general interest related to this problem.
It also aims to collect and produce the information necessary to meet the country's obligations in terms of the preparation of reports for supranational and international drug monitoring and control programs.
Batista Segrera said that the Observatory will allow leading the process of coordination of the production of information and knowledge on the definition and study of drug problems in the country, for their monitoring, understanding and explanation, and for the design of appropriate policies that anticipate, mitigate or solve the problems as well as their evaluation, with the broad participation of the relevant actors.
ON INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
The Minjus and the European cooperation program Copolad III, led by Fiiapp/Spanish Cooperation, have organized two seminars/workshops for the creation of the NDO and the Early Warning System.
The first meeting, held in December 2024, established a clear roadmap for the implementation of the Observatory in our country, which will not only outline the actions to follow, but will also allow a systematic and coordinated approach in the collection and analysis of data on drug use and its effects on the population.
The Minjus emphasized that "during the workshop, successful experiences from other observatories in Latin America and Europe were presented, which has proved to be a valuable source of learning. The external view has allowed us to identify strategies that have worked in similar contexts, and to adapt those lessons to our reality. This interaction with other countries reinforces the importance of international cooperation and information exchange in the fight against drug trafficking.
They addressed key issues to give content and functionality to the National Drug Observatory, such as the importance of establishing a national network of research and information on drugs, the formalization of a scientific advisory committee and the development of a national research agenda on the drug problem and the keys to an Early Warning System on new psychoactive substances (NPS), emerging drugs and other threats.
To understand these alliances, Pilar Varona Estrada, vice minister of the organization, explained to this media that Copolad is a cooperation program between Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union in drug policies that provides technical assistance to countries to create (or strengthen) NDOs with specific programs and the necessary tools in a cooperative manner, so that they can execute their implementation.
She highlighted international cooperation as an essential means of addressing the global drug problem on a basis of responsibility of all States.
In the work with Cuba, specifically, she explained that Copolad provided technical assistance to create the Observatory, although the country has a National Drug Commission, in compliance with all the United Nations agreements and conventions related to this scourge, and which reaffirms and enforces the zero tolerance policy.
The essential objective of the Commission is not only the confrontation, because among its members is the Ministry of the Interior or the Prosecutor's Office, it also presents a preventive approach, as the Ministries of Education, Higher Education and Public Health are involved.
By agreement of the Council of State, the Ministry of Justice was entrusted with directing the Commission, focusing its operation and implementation in order to achieve a successful management and make effective the principle of zero tolerance.
Therefore, she emphasized that "Cuba has the conditions to create the Observatory, which would become the tool to articulate, evaluate, investigate and monitor the specific situation of the country, in addition to focusing specific information on the evolution of behavior not only on the island, but also in the region and in the world."
IMPLEMENTATION IN 2025
Varona Estrada remarked that the creation of the NDO was set for this year, since it has a period of implementation that began with the first workshop to approach the experiences of the observatories of the region and the Early Warning Systems.
"This offered us a vision of what the role of the NDO is, which is not related to that of the Commission, since the first would allow, as a structure, to make evaluations and capture information to trace the path of a more effective confrontation, while the second stipulates the policies," she remarked,
The second workshop/preparation, which concludes this Thursday, closes the cycle of preparation and technical assistance, and focuses directly on forensic laboratories, with the possibilities of better preparation of all personnel.
One of the objectives of the NDO, he said, is its Early Warning System, in order to make decisions and be more effective as a country to reinforce the principle of zero tolerance.
The commitment -and the intention- is to create the Observatory in July. "We are already finalizing ideas on how it should be set up, the premises and the means it would require. We are talking about a structure that does not require more than three or four people and that would also be under the responsibility, so far, of the Ministry of Justice," she commented.
She added that, in the case of the System, experts would be used in a cooperative manner to carry out investigations, in addition to the training schools of all the agencies that make up the National Drug Commission, which would have an active role and would provide information to the NDO.
In Cuba - the Vice Minister pointed out - there is a political will of the Government for a zero tolerance principle, which is executed in an articulated way with all those who are in charge of confrontation and prevention.
MAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE NDO
• Obtaining and monitoring data at the national level.
• Analysis and interpretation of the information collected.
• Preparation of reports and dissemination of results.
• Coordinate the national information and research network.
• Organizing the Early Warning System.
