The Committee of the Mediterranean School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (MedSPAD) held its annual meeting in Paris, France, to review progress and plan future steps in monitoring adolescent substance use and addictive behaviours across the southern Mediterranean region.

The event brought together permanently appointed scientific experts from the Mediterranean region, project leaders from the Italian Research Council (CNR), as well representatives of the European Parliament and the African Union Committee.

The meeting started with the presentation of the Fifth MedSPAD Regional Report on substance use and addictive behaviour, elaborated in cooperation with the Italian Research Council. The report included data gathered from Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia, and included updates on national surveys along with plans for upcoming implementations of MedSPAD surveys.

The Roundtable with the participation of all MedSPAD Southern Mediterranean countries allowed the members to provide updates on their national surveys, disseminate the results, and exchange on the impact of their policies and the needs foreseen for the near future.

The findings of the 2024 report of the European School Survey on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) were presented, allowing for a cross-regional analysis of the trends in substance use and addictive behaviours. The participation of both MedSPAD and ESPAD at the annual meeting allowed for a fruitful exchange on national policies and the analysed trends from the surveys, as well as for a more comprehensive overview of the pattern of addictive behaviours, and substance use and availability, in Europe and the Mediterranean region.

An important result of this year’s Committee meeting were the in-depth discussions on updating the MEDSPAD survey to adapt it to the current realities of drug use as well as national developments, all the while taking into account cultural differences and challenges across the region.

MedNET is the Pompidou Group’s Mediterranean network for co-operation on drugs and addictions, promoting co-operation, exchange, and mutual transfer of knowledge between countries on both sides of the Mediterranean. Following the set-up of the ESPAD in Europe (European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs), the MedSPAD (Mediterranean School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs) was launched in 2003 and is aimed at capacity-building and developing effective tools for monitoring youth substance use and risk behaviour in the Southern Mediterranean region.

ESPAD is an independent research project supported by EMCDDA and conducted by research teams in more than 40 European countries.

The MedSPAD project is set up, designed, and funded by the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe.

The seminar was organised in the framework of the joint European Union-Council of Europe South Programme V, co-financed by the two organisations and implemented by the Council of Europe.