WHO says there's a critical gap worldwide for SUD treatment

In its Global Status Report on alcohol, health, and treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) released last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) presented a dim picture of how alcohol policies and SUD treatment are failing. The report is based on data collected by WHO from Member States and organized in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) health target 3.5, which calls on countries to strengthen “the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.” The report proposes a new service capacity index for these disorders as an additional contextual indicator for monitoring progress in this domain and concludes with broad directions for international action to accelerate progress towards achievement of SDG health target 3.5.