Coordination meeting in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

The EMCDDA’s International cooperation sector had a three-day long visit to Skopje, to meet with the Deputy Minister of Health, the Head of the national focal point and the representatives of Ministry of Interior and also with the Customs Department in order to exchange views on the EMCDDA’s activities in the country. Further bilateral meetings to explain the role of the EMCDDA also took place during the visit, namely with representatives of the Interministerial Committee on Drugs, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Medical Faculty of the University St Kyril and Mephodiy, the Institute of Public Health, the World Customs Organization, toxicological clinics and the EU Delegation. The state of the art of ESPAD (the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs) in the country was also discussed. The meetings highlighted the following priority areas for cooperation; advancing on activities to estimate prevalence of drug use among general population survey, support to further developing of a national Early Warning System on new psychoactive substances, further developments in monitoring and reporting supply data in line with EMCDDA requirements and monitoring drug treatment availability and provision.