International Perspectives Epidemiology Network on Drug Abuse in Southern African Communities: An Overview

Abstract

In order to address the health, social, and economic burden of member states in this region, the South African Development Community (SADC) was established in 1993 to deal with poverty reduction, manage the impact of drug abuse and HIV/AIDS and deal with political instability. The SADC is comprised of 13 member states and these countries differ greatly in land area, population, income levels, economic growth, and official languages. The members of SADC are Angola, Botswana, Congo–DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Southern African Development Community Regional Drug Control Programme makes provision for the establishment of a regional surveillance network (SADC Epidemiology Network on Drug Use; SENDU). The overall goal of SENDU is to improve the information base of substance abuse for policy makers and clinicians and to address the health and socioeconomic burden caused by substance abuse and HIV/AIDS in this region. SENDU's purpose is to develop and establish a substance abuse sentinel surveillance system in each of the SADC member states.