International Blue Cross Projects

Alcohol and Aging - A Growing Concern

Wed, 30 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Alcohol and Aging - A Growing Concern

There is a growing aging population in Finland. By 2060 every 4th person will be 65+. Research shows that 62% of the Finnish aging population uses alcohol and 8% of these abuse it. Exceessive alcohol use in the elderly leads to loneliness, accidents, mixing with medication, binge drinking and using alcohol as self medication. The Finnish Blue Ribbon has created a groups to train professionals and offer peer support, advice and information to the aging population.

The Challenge
Even though the age structure of our society has changed considerably, rehabilitative and addiction prevention work with the elderly has not yet been seen as a special issue in its own right. According to studies, some elderly users of alcohol benefit particularly from information regarding the combined effects of alcohol and health, medications and ageing. We must therefore increase our health care workers basic knowledge of the risks linking alcohol to certain illnesses and medication.

The Solution
The safety and well-being of society is best promoted by increasing the safety and well-being of individuals or groups that are considered the most vulnerable. Elderly persons have the right to receive information about how alcohol use is linked to ageing and be offered addiction services tailored to their needs. This project enables each person to receive information and support without judgement through a group work model where facilitators are trained on age specific substance abuse matters.

Long-Term Impact
Through the development and implementation of concrete guidelines for dealing with addiction, specifically among elderly populations, there will be an increase in the number of age-specific tailored programs offered and a subsequent reduction in substance abuse among the elderly population. As a result, society will be able to ensure a better quality of life and health conditions for an aging substance abusers and more preventative measures are enabled through community action groups.

To learn more about this project, please visit the Finnish Blue Ribbon project site. (In Finnish only)

Blue Cross Denmark

Mon, 17 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Blue Cross Denmark is dedicated to social equality and to caring for people harmed by alcohol and drugs. It works to prevent further harm to others, especially among children and youth. The Blue Cross in Denmark provides:

• treatment and prevention
• community centers
• various offers to care for and help children and youth

The Blue Cross Denmark arranges summer camps and excursions for children, and a range of additional offerings, which you can read about in full here. The organization also caters to the homeless and works with a range of new initiatives involving job training and social economy - including expanding its activities to Greenland!

The work of Blue Cross Denmark is funded through donations, collaboration with public authorities, and through 61 second-hand shops. Blue Cross Denmark is largely operated by volunteer resources, which not only add a special dimension of humanity and compassion to its professional offerings, but which is mission-critical to the entire operation. Blue Cross Denmark employs 400 people, and more than 2000 volunteers further work for the cause in a range of functions.

To learn more about Blue Cross in Denmark, visit their website or check out one of their projects on Global Giving!

Life Skills and Peer Education - Empowering Vulnerable Youth in Chad

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Blue Cross Chad has found that amongst the main risk factors associated with the onset of alcohol dependence are a difficult social environment, discontinuing school and exposure to networks of peers who are already dependant or demonstrate high risk behaviour. Blue Cross Chad is therefore reaching out to and assisting disadvantaged children from difficult backgrounds who are threatened by school failure and often belong to families affected by alcohol-related harm.

Country Context

Alcohol is one of the biggest obstacles to sustainable development. With high urbanization rates, African countries in particular, are at risk for rising alcohol rates. Substance abuse contributes to problems like the spread of disease, including HIV/AIDS, crime and prostitution and there are limited resources to deal with the prevention of alcohol and drug use in Africa and around the world. The growing alcohol consumption in Africa and the early age of onset make the introduction of effective prevention programs, particulary in schools important. In the field of addiction prevention, such programs are non-existent in many countries.

Chad, the fifth largest country in Africa, is not an exception of this and has a particularly high rate of alcohol consumption. On the one hand, 70 per cent of the population is abstinent. However on the other, the remaining population’s consumption of annually 33.9 litres of pure alcohol makes it the country with the highest per capita rate in the world (WHO 2014).

Project Summary

The Life Skills and Peer Education project in Chad is a holistic prevention program for disadvantaged youth in the field of alcohol, drugs and HIV/AIDS. It promotes behavior change and the development of essential life skills. Peer education is based on role modeling and the ability of young people to become leaders and agents of change through empowerment and support.

The peer leaders are trained and coached to nurture the development of social and interpersonal competencies. Young people develop their communication and problem solving skills in order to take informed decisions in their life. Through better skills they gain increased self-esteem, cope with problems in a healthy, non-violent manner and learn positive conflict resolution techniques. These competencies are called life skills. These skills contribute towards positive societal change in the community as young people learn to reflect before they act more positive and safer environ-ments are created.

In addition to the life skills lessons taught in public high schools, Blue Cross Chad targets also a specific group of out-of-school youth, namely young motorcycle taxi drivers. Alcohol use as well as the use of a prescription drug called Tramadol are rampant among this group and lead to frequent road accidents putting at harm the drivers as well as their clients.

An additional focus of this project is on the implementation of alcohol policy measures – especially in the field of youth protection – through targeted community action involving local leaders, teachers and parents. These structural measures complement the preventive measures as described above by reducing youth access to alcohol and underage drinking.

Project Objective

Strategic objective is to contribute to the reduction of alcohol and substance abuse among in and out-of-school youth in the capital city of N’Djamena. Youth will learn to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to make healthy decisions about alcohol and drugs and related risks, including HIV / AIDS transmissions. Preventing substance abuse among youth decreases violence and the spread of disease, which allows children to lead a more productive, healthy life.

Target Group

The programme targets middle -school students between 9 and 18 and the specific group of young motorcycle taxi drivers who are especially at risk of substance abuse. Activities are carried out in the capital of N´Djamena. Beside targeting students and motorcyclists, the program also seeks to reach adults (parents and community leaders) as well as government institutions (local and national political and administrative authorities) who play a key role in shaping and enabling a safe environment to protect young people.

Project Activities

• Raising awareness of alcohol and drugs issues through prevention campaigns in and outside school
• Providing weekly life skills lessons at secondary schools in N'Djamena
• Providing life skills coaching to motorbike taxi drivers at their ranks
• Publication of a life skills handbook with practical instructions on teaching life skills in schools
• Training of youth peer educators to oversee free-time activities – e.g. football or theatre – in Life Skills Clubs
• Training of adults – preferably parents and teachers – in “Addiction and the Life Skills Approach to Dealing with Teenagers“
• Community work with parents, teachers and communities in the surrounding neighbourhoods of the targeted schools with special attention to the sensitization to alcohol law and the enforcement of the protection of minors.

Key Achievements to Date
• Increased awareness of the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse among both the students as well as the teachers.
• Reduction of the drug trade of Tramadol (opiates-based drug) at participating schools.
• Appreciation of the students who report experiencing, for the first time in their lives, participatory teaching methods (role plays, discussions, etc.).
• Development of an Africa-specific Life Skills Manual for Peer Educators (PDF available from IFBC upon request).

Project Duration: 2013 - 2020

This is an IFBC funded project with support from SDC, Brot für Alle, and the Katholische Kirche Bern.

Blue Cross Brazil Strengthens its Network of Self-help Groups

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Blue Cross Brazil has developed a network of aftercare service providers in the field of alcohol and illicit drug dependence care across Southern Brazil. The aim of the network is to significantly reduce relapse rates among clients who have successfully completed their first therapy cycle. This important Blue Cross Brazil initiative is a response to the lack of integrated aftercare services in Southern Brazil – a gap which seriously jeopardises the success of dependence treatment. The Blue Cross Brazil self-help group (SHG) development initiative is therefore making a significant contribution to dealing with this critical service provision problem.

Country Context: Some Facts and Figures

• 11.7 million persons consume alcohol harmfully (National Survey on Alcohol and Drugs Lenad 2012)
• 6.8% of the total population is dependent on alcohol
• 2 out of 10 Brazilians have been a victim of violence in childhood
• 20% of the parents or caregivers who assaulted their children had drunk alcohol.

Project Summary

Blue Cross Brazil is providing treatment and aftercare services in the most affected three Southern states of Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul. The organization collaborates with 12 affiliated treatment centers that employ the therapeutic community approach and provide stationary treatment to more than 1,500 clients per year.
In order to complement the services of these Blue Cross Centres as well as to decrease the rate of relapses among its clients, Blue Cross Brazil is building up a wide network of self-help groups for clients and their families. This is done through the active promotion of self-help among communities, churches and other institutions, the training of self-help group leaders and through close support and coaching for newly established self-help groups.

Key Achievements in 2013

• Visited 426 churches, communities and institutions in order to promote the concept of self-help.
• Completed 2,800 home visits to participants of the new self-help groups formed under this project.
• Held 5 regional meetings for self-help group leaders in order to promote networking and learning among Blue Cross volunteers.
• Organized a National Conference on Self-Help together with representatives of the Blue Cross of Germany, providing an important training opportunity to staff and volunteers.
• Published a booklet called “Reflections for Self-Help Groups”. This book develops 52 themes for self-help meetings, one for each week of the year, elaborated by collaborators and volunteers of BC Brazil. It will be an important support tool for the self-help leaders to facilitate their meetings.

“Expanding Self-Help in Southern Brazil”

Due to an increased need for support services, Blue Cross Brazil began offering self-help groups for different target groups. The team is growing a network of KIDS groups for children whose parents are drug or alcohol abusers. Additionally, specific groups have been set up for prisoners and indigenous persons on the “Nonoai” reserve in Rio Grande del Sul.

According to the coordinator of the self-help group for inmates at the correctional facility Palmeira das Missões, participation in the self-help program changes the lives of the prisoners: “The inmates told me that after participating in the self-help group meetings they felt more at ease to talk with the psychologist of the prison. They could articulate themselves better and also express their thoughts more easily.”

For more information about Blue Cross Brazil, please view our video on YouTube.

Donations to contribute towards the further development and expansion of this important aftercare initiative are very welcome!

Blue Cross Ukraine Manages a Drop-in Centre for Disadvantaged Children and Young People at Risk

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

In the slum of Gawan-Slabotka (Mariupol, Southeast Ukraine) education and employment are scarce. Many children and adolescents, as a result, grow up in extreme poverty, often aggravated by a parent’s dependence on alcohol and/or illicit drugs. Also, they often face discrimination, isolation, as well as physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. They then tend to adopt high-risk behaviour, such as engaging in criminal activity and/or consuming psychoactive substances.

Young people in Gawan-Slabotka usually have nowhere and no one to turn to for help. Blue Cross Ukraine has been working to address this gap by helping these affected children and adolescents face everyday challenges and offer support that can help them shape a future where there is real hope for a wholesome, decent, and socially integrated life.

Country context

Alcohol abuse and addiction take a heavy toll on the nation’s health, longevity and productivity. Drinking starts early and the beer and booze are cheap. Ukrainians have a preference for hard alcoholic drinks, and their children drink much more than in the rest of Europe. A 2008 World Health Organization study found that 40 percent of children in Ukraine drink alcohol – mainly beer – at least once per month. This was the highest rate among nations surveyed, followed by Israel. An estimated 30 percent of men aged 25-30 are alcohol addicted and according to the Health Ministry, about 40,000 deaths annually are caused by alcohol poisoning and other related diseases, as well as alcohol-related accidents.

Project Summary

As early as in 2002 Blue Cross Ukraine started building up its work for neglected children from families affected by alcohol in the slum area of Gawan-Slabotka. Here many children and adolescents grow up in families that are suffering from alcohol and drug abuse and caught in a spiral of poverty and helplessness. These vulnerable children and youth often face discrimination, isolation, physical and sexual violence, and sometimes, engage in high risk behaviors, including crime and drug abuse. There are no places for them to turn for help. In 2009, with financial support from the Norwegian TV Campaign, Blue Cross Ukraine was empowered by the International Blue Cross to establish a drop-in centre located at the heart of the slum, including a building that was finalized in 2010 – the “Children’s House Gawan.” Today, this centre provides a daily program of structured leisure activities, delivers psychosocial support as well as counseling on substance abuse and HIV/AIDS and other supportive services including tutoring and pre-employment assistance. Adolescents are encouraged to begin an education or apprenticeship, or to find a formal job and are supported in this process. Warm meals are distributed for free to cater for the most urgent health needs of the children.

Project Objective

The objective of the project is to provide support services for children of substance-dependent parents and reduce the consumption of alcohol and drugs in the slum of Mariapoul, Ukraine.
Target Group
The primary target group is 120 + children and 25 adolescents daily at the Children’s House Gawan. Additionally, the parents of the children are also reached through home visits, education and information services.
(need to find picture of the House)

Activities

• Manage the Children’s House Gawan in Mariapoul
• Counseling, treatment, after-school activities, home visits, care for the elderly, distribution of food to homeless population
• Networking with 24 institutions across Ukraine working in the area of substance abuse

Key Achievements to Date

• Children’s House Gawan built and operational
• Provision of daily services including tutoring, hygiene promotion, nutrition and support to 120 + children and 25 adolescents
• Reduced substance abuse and its negative consequences on family members and the community in Mariapoul
• Established network of 24 partners for the care of substance-dependents and their families in the area of Mariupol and throughout Ukraine

Project Duration

2009 - present

This project is generously supported by the Herrod Foundation.

Blue Cross Brazil - KIDS Support Groups

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

According to the Brazilian National Drug Report 2009 an estimated 12.3% of the adult urban population in Brazil suffers from dependence on alcohol, making alcohol misuse a significant public health issue. Blue Cross Brazil is providing treatment and aftercare services mainly in the three Southern states of Santa Catarina, Paranà and Rio Grande do Sul, where alcohol and drug use is most prevalent. The organization collaborates with 12 affiliated treatment centers that employ the therapeutic community approach and provide stationary treatment to more than 1500 clients per year.

Project Summary

Through research and experience with its clients in the Self Help Groups, the Blue Cross Brazil identified the need to create support groups for children of alcohol/drug dependent parents. These children often face exclusion, abuse and neglect and the groups give them a place to find help and ongoing support. The Blue Cross treatment center "Cerene" pioneered a project with KIDS Support Groups at the request of clients supported by the Blue Cross network in Southern Brazil. Further support groups for kids were created in the cities of São Bento do Sul and Rio Negrinho (State of Santa Catarina) in 2012. Due to their success, the Blue Cross Brazil has developed a set of guidelines for the formation of KIDS Support Groups, including weekly activities for use in the sessions, and began training group leaders in order to expand the program.

Project Objective

The objective of the KIDS Support Groups is to promote a place for welcoming and orientation for children affected by their parents’ substance use/abuse as strategy of prevention and assistance to people in circumstances of social vulnerability and of hazard. Through targeted training of KIDS Group leaders/facilitators, the Blue Cross Brazil will expand its successful program of Self Help to reach beyond the substance abusers and provide much needed care for family members.

Target Group

The target group is children between the ages of 4 and 11 from participating families that have been affected directly or indirectly by the drug use, abuse or dependence of their parents or caregivers. Children whose family members do not participate in the Blue Cross Self Help groups are also welcome participants.

Proposed Results

• Over 60 children (average of 6 children per meeting) receive weekly support and are assisted to develop coping strategies that allow for a positive development of their personality and prevent addictive behavior in the future (more than 130 children in the second year)
• Over 50 parents are strengthened in their ability to raise their kids in a drug-free environment and by utilizing positive parenting strategies, through the participation in Blue Cross self-help groups for adults and through individual assistance by group leaders (over 120 parents in the second year)
• All in all over 30 families receive direct support (66 families in the second year)
• The Blue Cross Brazil "Support Group" project team has in-depth knowledge in the accompaniment and support of "KIDS Support Groups”

Activities

• Train 50 group leaders per year to establish and expand KIDS Support Groups in each of the three proposed states (Santa Catarina, Paranà and Rio Grande do Sul)
• Establish 22 new KIDS Support Groups in three different states by the end of 2015
• Produce and print a professional handbook for KIDS Support Group leaders
• Blue Cross coordinator accompanies the leaders of new KIDS support groups through regular coaching as well as participation in meetings
• Group leaders organize regular home visits/work with parents

Project Duration

The initial pilot phase began in 2013 with the establishment of 2 groups. The main project implementation phase is 2014 – 2015.

Check out our video about the Blue Cross Brazil on YouTube.

This is an IFBC funded project with support from NRK.

Life Skills and Peer Education in Congo - Empowering Vulnerable Youth in Congo with Essential Life Skills

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Country context

Globally, the harmful use of alcohol causes approximately 3.3 million deaths every year. This is greater than, for example, the proportion of deaths from HIV/AIDS with 2.8%. Worldwide, and specifically in Africa, substance abuse represents an obstacle to development. There is now extended proof of the causal relationship between alcohol consumption and the incidence and clinical outcomes of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and pneumonia. Beyond these health consequences, the harmful use of alcohol inflicts significant social and economic losses on individuals and society at large (WHO 2014).

The growing alcohol consumption in Africa and the early age of onset make the introduction of effective prevention programs in schools particularly important. In the field of addiction prevention, such programs are non-existent in many countries. In Congo, one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, alcohol consumption and drugs abuse is growing and reaching alarming levels among young people. According to a Blue Cross Congo survey, 54% of young people aged 15 years old consume alcohol on regular basis, and it principally affects disadvantaged young men living in the peripheral suburbs.

Project Summary

The Life Skills and Peer Education project in the Republic of Congo is a holistic prevention program for disadvantaged youth in the field of alcohol, drugs and HIV/AIDS. It promotes behavior change and the de-velopment of essential life skills. Peer education is based on role modeling and the ability of young people to become leaders and agents of change through empowerment and support.
The peer leaders are trained and coached to nurture the development of social and interpersonal competencies. Young people develop their communication and problem solving skills in order to take informed decisions in their life. Through better skills they gain increased self-esteem, cope with problems in a healthy, non-violent manner and learn positive conflict resolution techniques. These competencies are called life skills. These skills contribute towards positive societal change in the community as young people learn to reflect before they act more positive and safer environ-ments are created.

In addition to the life skills lessons taught in public high schools, our local partner, ASUdh, also carries out awareness campaigns about the dangers associated with alcohol and drug use at recreational facilities, churches and within the community. An additional focus of this project is on the implementation of alcohol policy measures – especially in the field of youth protection – through targeted community action involving local leaders, teachers and parents.

Project Objective

The overall objective of this prevention project is health promotion as well as substance abuse and violence prevention among young people aged 14-18 years in the capital city of Brazzaville. Reducing substance abuse among youth decreases violence and the spread of disease, which allows children to lead a more productive, healthy life.

Target Group

This project reaches public high school students aged 14 – 18 years. In addition, the project works with local leaders, teachers and parents.

Activities

• Decreased alcohol and drug consumption among youth in Brazzaville through behavior change
• Better implementation of youth protection measures through coordinated community action in Djiri, a neighbourhood in Brazzaville
• Strengthened civil society through capacity building of local actors in the field of alcohol and drugs
Planned Activities
• Introduction of life skills lessons at public secondary schools in Brazzaville
• Implementation of a prevention programme for youths in four football clubs as well as in a parish in a disadvantaged district
• Organisation of leisure activities free of addictive substances – for instance theatrical performances and football tournaments
• Training and mentoring of youth peer educators who help produce the life skills lessons in schools and who supervise leisure activities
• Training of adults – preferably adults and teachers – in “Addiction and Life Skills Approach to Dealing with Teenagers“
• Preventive work in three disadvantaged boroughs (“arrondissements” 901, 902 and 903): awareness-raising in the area of youth protection provisions and inclusion of at least 300 local decision makers.

Project Duration: 2014 - 2020

This is an IFBC funded project with support from SDC, Brot für Alle and the Lotteriefonds Kanton Bern.

Blue Cross Romania - Treatment in The Potter's House

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Blue Cross Romania Scales up its Activities

Blue Cross Romania is one of only three non-governmental organisations in the country that offers inpatient treatment, counselling, and care for people dependent on alcohol and/or illicit drugs. In a country of 22 million people where demand for dependence treatment is already substantial and growing quickly, there is a significant need for expansion of effective services. In light of this, Blue Cross Romania has decided to scale up its activities in the form of a new therapy and care community centre that will improve and increase services available to vulnerable people who would otherwise have been neglected...

Country Context

• A million adolescents and adults are dependent on alcohol.
• Romania, like many other Eastern European countries, has seen a massive influx of illegal drugs, the most dangerous of them being heroin.
• Heroin addicts in the capital Bucharest alone increased dramatically from around 3,000 in 2005 to over 30,000 in 2011 – a tenfold increase!

Project Summary

Blue Cross Romania built a new rehabilitation centre for men – named ‘Potter’s House’. The new centre will provide services based on the ‘therapeutic community model’, where:
• Clients live for several months in a therapeutic environment, to begin to adopt and experience a new lifestyle away from drug and alcohol dependence;
• Clients have an opportunity to rediscover their own internal strengths, gain self-confidence and learn to take responsibility for themselves;
• Rehabilitation support is provided through professionally facilitated individual, group, and occupational therapy interspersed adequately with recreational activities.
• Clients’ families and guests are welcome and they are encouraged and supported to strengthen vital connections to rebuild social networks.
The new centre opened its doors in 2012 and has allowed Blue Cross Romania to significantly increase the number of clients benefiting from treatment within its centres – from 160 to 300 per year!
Your help and support will be vital to build, staff, and equip it.

To see more about Blue Cross Romania and their projects, view our videos on YouTube.

We welcome donations!

Blue Cross Germany

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Blue Cross Germany offers support in addiction care and prevention for family members in a wide network of over 1,100 groups and associations at over 400 locations throughout Germany. For more information about their projects, please visit their website.

Check out our video about the Blue Cross Germany's innovative treatment project on YouTube.

Blue Cross Norway

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Blue Cross Norway Expands its Training on Alcohol Policy Formulation to Various Countries in Africa!

Experience clearly shows that evidence-based alcohol policies with a population-wide reach are highly effective in preventing the harmful use of alcohol. Therefore, starting in 2009 Blue Cross Norway, in cooperation with the International Blue Cross and the Norwegian development organisation FORUT, began to provide training for motivated NGO leaders, politicians, government staff and media in select developing countries. The training equips participants to advocate and mobilize for more comprehensive alcohol policy (including control mechanisms such as availability, price, age restrictions and drink-driving interventions) within their country’s socioeconomic situation.

Through this programme, Blue Cross Norway significantly contributes to ensuring that country policy debate and policy formulation takes into account the latest information and evidence base about the social and health effects of alcohol when considering regulatory development. This is particularly important in developing and newly industrialising countries where the alcohol industry is expanding its reach and sales, while the development of alcohol policies is still in its early stages.

The Programme

The main objective of the programme is contribute to the development and implementation of effective alcohol policies by training NGO leaders, politicians, civil servants and media representatives from developing countries to advocate and lobby effectively for a effective alcohol policy as part of the wider health and development landscape. A resource group of twenty international experts has been actively involved in the realisation of the programme. A training manual has been developed in both English and French, and can be utilised by anybody to run trainings or simply to use it as a reference tool.

To date the programme has involved the following important interventions:

• 2009: a pilot training was successfully held in Malawi.
• 2010: the programme was expanded to Botswana, Namibia, and Chad.
• 2010: ‘Training of Trainers’* with participants from Uganda, Malawi, Namibia, Lesotho, South Africa, Chad, Botswana, and Norway
• 2011: additional trainings took place in Lesotho and Madagascar.
• 2012: The training programme, together with FORUT, the WHO, South Africa Medical Research Council and others hosted the first ever Southern African Alcohol Policy Forum in Johannesburg, which included participants from the whole region.
• 2013: Alcohol Policy Alliance Lesotho (APAL) was formalised and underwent alcohol policy advocacy training.

According to alcohol policy expert Prof. Isidore Obot, tenured professor and chairperson of the Department of Behavioural Health Sciences at the School of Public Health and Policy at the Morgan State University in Baltimore and adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Uyo (Nigeria), “This programme is one of very few that have succeeded in linking the existing research on prevention of alcohol-related harm to the reality on the ground by initiating and supporting concrete policy measures.” (quote from his address to the international Kettil Bruun Society Conference on Alcohol Epidemiology and Evidence-based Policy: Translating Research into Effective Prevention, Treatment and Policy, held in November 2010 in Kampala).

The programme has contributed to the following concrete changes:

• The national alcohol policy of Lesotho was positively revised in a joint effort between Blue Cross, civil society and the Ministry of Health in 2012.
• A comprehensive national alcohol policy, developed by an inter-ministerial committee, Blue Cross and WHO, was handed over to the Ministry of Justice in Madagascar in 2013.
• In Chad a comprehensive national alcohol policy is being developed as a joint effort between the Ministry of Health, WHO and Blue Cross Chad.
• The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance, a regional network of civil society organizations concerned with alcohol policy was established in 2012.
• A strong National Alcohol Policy Alliance composed of a network of civil society entities was established in Lesotho in 2013.

Donations Welcome!

Blue Cross Norway wishes to expand its training programme to other countries. Your donation will help Blue Cross Norway achieve this important aim!

About Blue Cross Norway

The Blue Cross Norway consists of 50 local institutions offering treatment, education, housing services, job training, counseling and social networks. BC Norway also engages in different forms of prevention work, with its own youth department.

To learn more about Blue Cross Norway, visit their website.

To view the Alcohol Policy Training Manual click here for English or French.

Blue Cross Czech Republic establishes a broad network of counselling and aftercare services

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The Blue Cross Czech Republic has developed an extensive network of counselling and aftercare services in the Moravian-Silesian region. In this region, care and support for dependent people and their families is as yet not fully developed as a social service. The services the Blue Cross Czech Republic provides, therefore complement the existing detoxification programmes offered by local hospitals and clinics, Blue Cross services are a significant contribution that enables clients to benefit from a professional, integrated approach towards dependence treatment that effectively addresses detoxification, therapy, rehabilitation, and aftercare.

The wider context in which Blue Cross Czech Republic works

• The Czech Republic has the second highest alcohol consumption in the world.
• Over 30% of Czech men who drink alcohol are classified by the WHO (2011) as ‘heavy episodic drinkers’ (i.e. ‘had at least 60 grams or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion weekly’).
• In the Czech Republic beer is cheaper than any soft drink.
• As other high consumption countries, alcohol policy regulation development and enforcement is considered in need of strengthening.

The project

Since 2009, Blue Cross Czech Republic has established three highly professional counselling centres in different locations in the Moravian-Silesian region and one in neighbouring Zlin region. These centres offer an integrated therapy programme covering:
• individual counselling;
• counselling and advice for family members;
• referral services – including collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, prisons, and social and legal child protection;
• life-skills trainings; and
• spiritual support if desired; and
• self-help, i.e. a network of self-help groups is linked to each of the centres which aims to ensure the sustainability of the proposed support.

After two years of operation, the local Blue Cross counselling centres delivered more than 500 therapy sessions to an average of 80 clients per year in each centre! Nearly as many women as men visit the centres, and about a quarter of the persons seeking help are relatives of dependent persons. Thanks to the holistic approach that combines professional therapy and aftercare with a spiritual dimension, the counselling centres achieve a high rate of successful outcomes as well as client satisfaction.

Testimony from a client

I am waking up quite early, at 5:45 a.m., it is light outside. I am looking outside the window and noticing a thick fog. Despite this dull weather, I am saying my morning prayer: “Today will be a beautiful day, I will not spoil it by alcohol, I love myself; alcohol destroys my body and soul and causes wrinkles, which I want to have only from laughter.“ I then wish a nice day to all the people I know, to those whom I appreciate and whom I love. This has been my morning ritual ever since I started therapy at the Blue Cross. I was sceptical at first, but it really helps me to start my day on a positive note.

Donations welcome!

Blue Cross Czech Republic relies, amongst others, on donations to fund its services. Please help this organisation to ensure the sustainability of its services for people affected by the harmful use of alcohol.

Blue Cross Chile - Self Help for Relapse Prevention

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Country Context

Latin America’s level of consumption of 8.4 liters of pure alcohol annually per capita (total population 15+) makes it the second highest region in the world for alcohol consumption, behind only Europe at 10.9 liters. In 2014 Chile has – for the first time – topped Latin American alcohol consumption. The 2014 WHO Alcohol Profile for Chile shows a significant increase in drinking over the last 10 years, including a jump from 8.8 liters in 2011 to the current average of 9.6 liters. Factors that might have contributed to this increase are the longstanding drinking traditions and, linked, the social acceptance of drinking alcohol, relaxed alcohol laws and low taxation.

Project Summary

Blue Cross Chile is a health promotion organization which collaborates with 15 affiliated treatment centers that employ a therapeutic community approach and provide stationary and ambulatory treatment to more than 900 persons per year (clients and participating family members). In order to complement the services of these Blue Cross Centres as well as to decrease the rate of relapses among its clients, Blue Cross Chile is building up a network of self-help groups as new service delivery in the field of aftercare. This is done through the active promotion of self-help among communities, churches and other institutions, the training of self-help group leaders and through close support and coaching for newly established self-help groups.

Project Objective

Overall goal of this project is to significantly decrease the relapse rates among the Chilean Blue Cross treatment centers by creating a low threshold aftercare offer for clients leaving stationary treatment. By the end of 2014, at least 15 self-help groups will be created and run on a weekly basis in the cities Santiago, Valparaíso, El Bosque, Temuco and Coyhaique. These groups will be open to any person suffering from alcohol problems independent from whether treatment was provided by the Blue Cross or any other organization.

Target Group

More than 200 persons suffering from alcohol abuse, clients and family members alike. In addition, Blue Cross will train at least 125 self-help group leaders.

Activities

• Create at least 15 self-help groups in 5 cities
• Follow-up and support to each group by a Blue Cross professional staff
• Each self-help group participant shall be given the opportunity to attend an individual counselling session by a Blue Cross psychologist at least once a month
• Implement professional training for at least 125 self-help group leaders
• Organise monthly regional meetings between self-help groups in order to share experiences

Proposed Results

This aftercare project is designed for efficient and cost-effective relapse prevention as well as to strengthen the strategies of social reintegration for clients who leave residential treatment in a Blue Cross center after one year. This type of evening programme shall also serve a second group of clients who are persons suffering from dependence but who remain socially fully integrated. This clientele from which Blue Cross receives significant demands for support often does not have the possibility to participate in residential schemes but is able to enroll in this particular support project.

Project Duration: 1.1.2014 – 31.12.2014

This is an IFBC funded project with the support of NRK.