This publication aims to help to develop a youth substance abuse prevention project with a strong foundation - one that strives to involve young people and other important groups in determining the local substance abuse situation and in planning to address the situation. It is not a step-by-step recipe for planning a substance abuse prevention project on the basis of a local situation assessment but rather, a presentation of principles that, when applied, will increase the likelihood of successful outcomes.
The principles are based on the experiences and insights of more than 100 very different local partners operating in eight countries (Belarus, Philippines, Russian Federation, South Africa, Thailand, United Republic of Tanzania, Viet Nam, Zambia) from three different regions of the world (Central and Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Southern Africa). They are drawn from the major themes that arose when these local partners were asked to reflect on what worked and didn’t work soon after conducting their own local situation assessments and after planning their own substance abuse prevention project.