Wishing a Happy, Healthy, and Substance Abuse-Free New Year to NCSA Clients and Stakeholders: Reflecting on 2023 and Setting Goals for 2024

A happy, healthy, peaceful, prosperous, and substance abuse-free New Year is wished to all of our National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) clients, directors, management, staff, volunteers, and stakeholders, whether they are in Barbados, the region, or further afield operating in the public or private sectors. We also wish the same to all readers of the NCSA’s quarterly publication.

[The year] 2023 had much for us to reflect on, but we must leave any lasting negative experiences from that year behind us and focus on the positive things we want to accomplish over the next 12 months, as 2024 presents all of us with a wonderful opportunity to think afresh, plan and optimistically set achievable goals individually or collectively related to our families, close friends, and work colleagues. At NCSA’s Christmas dinner and awards ceremony on December 7, 2023, I referred to a popular Christmas song by Brian ‘Bumba’ Payne which has that wonderful line, repeated several times: Why can’t this Christmas feeling go on . . . ? I guess Brian meant for this feeling to extend well into the year ahead. I, therefore, encourage us to extend the kindness, love, understanding, generosity, and support we annually offer to each other in December for an extended period well into 2024. This is my sincere wish for us all. The NCSA family is well placed to continue carrying out its legal mandate of “. . . advising the minister on measures for the eradication or the control of substance abuse”. NCSA remains the national drug authority in Barbados and so plays a critical role in safeguarding the future human potential of Barbadians by discouraging substance abuse and its misuse. To this end, the NCSA remains committed to conducting programmes around school-based prevention, community-based prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, and research and information. Our trained staff remains committed to the task of educating, informing, and providing technical assistance and counseling to individuals of all ages and [from] all walks of life. The COVID-19 period of 2020 to 2022 was a challenging one for our agency but, out of sheer necessity, we became innovators and utilised new methods and strategies to continue presenting and getting our substance-abuse education and preventative messages across to Barbadians through the increased use of social media and by enhancing our broadcast footprint. We strengthened our research capacity and delivered more current and evidence-based reports to help influence Government’s drug policy and response to the ever-changing nature and availability of new drugs entering the Barbados market. NCSA made use of the recently introduced early warning system mechanism which has already borne fruit by enabling our parent ministry, twice in 2023, to alert Barbadians and stakeholders alike of new substances and trends that were identified from NCSA research. Two reports and a month-long activity in January will see the NCSA at the top of its game. September saw NCSA release a ground-breaking report on ‘Barriers To Substance Abuse Treatment in Barbados: Factors Hindering Women’s Use Of Treatment Services’. This will be followed at the end of January by NCSA’s release of its 2022 Barbados Drug Information Network (a.k.a. BARDIN) report as we conclude NCSA’s month-long Drug Awareness Month of activities. It is a busy time for the NCSA family, but I again take great pleasure on our behalf in wishing you all a successful 2024. God bless you. Hadford Howell Chairman, NCSA (2021-2024)