International Consortium on Quality in Substance Use Disorders Treatment

The Challenge

In 2020, over 284 million people worldwide used drugs, and approximately 38.6 million suffer from substance use disorders (SUDs), according to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Unfortunately, global accessibility to treatment services remains low, with only one in eight people with SUDs having access to treatment services.

Moreover, some commonly used treatment interventions for managing SUDs lack scientific evidence. These interventions may be ineffective or even harmful. Therefore, it is not only crucial to close the treatment gap but also imperative to improve the quality of treatment provided to individuals with SUDs.

ICQ: International Consortium on Quality in Substance Use Disorders Treatment

ICQ is a recently established international organization. Its mission is to collaborate with global partners and key organizations, working towards helping countries enhance the quality of SUDs treatment in line with current international guidelines. Numerous global efforts are underway to address quality in SUDs, and ICQ is building on this momentum because:

• Untreated SUDs, particularly dependence, pose significant costs to countries in terms of harm to individuals, families, and communities, along with an overall economic burden.
• SUDs can be successfully treated.
• SUDs treatment is cost-effective if the treatment is of good quality and tailored to individual needs.
• Providing effective treatment as part of an integrated and well-coordinated system is an investment in the health of people with SUDs and their communities and countries.
• Planned and funded quality systems of SUDs are required, with the involvement of all local stakeholders, to bring about the needed change.

Supports Available

Quality in systems of care and services will be developed and sustained through support from two international initiatives:

• International Consortium on Quality in Substance Use Disorders Treatment (ICQ)
• Program for Internationa Quality Assurance in Treatment (PQAT)

Both initiatives promote quality through peer-led quality assurance mechanisms, training, mentoring and technical assistance to countries Quality Assurance (QA) agencies. They aim to recognize quality treatment in line with international standards and help countries apply and obtain the international Quality Seal award. Technical assistance is also provided to improve and sustain quality assurance in countries (PIQAT) through collaborations with Colombo Plan, OAS/CICAD, and UNODC.

Through ICQ and PIQAT, quality and quality assurance in a country's systems of care and services will be embedded and sustained through continuous quality improvement processes as reflected in International standards. The diagram below illustrates this relationship and emphasizes the need for quality in both.