The ADD program

“Alcohol, Drugs and Development” is the name of a development program by FORUT; The Norwegian Campaign for Development and Solidarity. ADD is a global program within FORUT, in the sense that it involves all countries with FORUT activities and also FORUT action on the international level. As one of its main priorities, FORUT aims at integration of alcohol and drugs perspectives in its development programs, as well as in the field of development cooperation in general. This priority has been endorsed by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), and the ADD program has received NORAD grants as part of the framework agreement between NORAD and FORUT.

The ADD program was launched in 2003 as a continuation of the project “Local Action against Alcohol and Drugs.It is a multi-component program with activities in several areas and on several levels:

• International, national and local level;
• Community action, awareness campaigns, policy making and lobbying, research and documentation;
• Specific alcohol and drug prevention projects, as well as projects where alcohol and drug prevention is integrated into more general activities of community development and promotion of health and welfare.

National partner organizations in five developing countries are involved in the ADD program; Nepal, India and Sri Lanka in Asia and Sierra Leone and Malawi in Africa. The national partners have their specific ideological profiles and use a broad variety of strategies and working methods. Some of the partners are specialized agencies in alcohol and drug prevention, while a majority are broader community based development organizations.

ADD activities on the local level are addressing both alcohol and drugs as an obstacle to development. On the national and international level the ADD program concentrates on alcohol. This is justified by the fact that there are a lot of other agencies concentrating on the drug trafficking industry, while the alcohol industry, until now, has been given less attention.

The following areas of action have been selected for the ADD program in the application for NORAD funding:

1. Research, country studies
2. Project support, micro projects, and incentives for partners to get involved
3. Exchange of experience and network meetings
4. Documentation and dissemination of knowledge
5. Strengthening of counter-forces to the international alcohol industry
6. Sufficient administrative capacity with high competence on the topic

The responsibility for program management lies with the FORUT headquarters in Gjøvik, Norway, while the program office is located in Oslo.

Presently the following partners make of the core of the ADD network.

• Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC) (Sri Lanka)
• FORUT Sri Lanka
• Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN)
• Association for Promoting Social Action (APSA) (India)
• Concerned for Working Children (CWC) (India)
• Indian Alcohol Policy Alliance (IAPA)
• Association Sènègalese pour la Paix, la Lutte contre l'Alcool et la Toxicomanie (ASPAT)
• Drug Fight Malawi
• Malawi Girl Guides Association