Final report on an evaluation of the USAID/Bolivia narcotics awareness program

The evaluation covers the period 1/87-8/88. The program has been generally successful. Project-funded activities, especially those in the private sector, have contributed to increased awareness of the drug problem and have laid the foundation for a more thorough understanding and commitment to increased drug prevention activity. A private organization, Sistema Educativo Antidrogadiccion y de Movilizacion Social (SEAMOS), has been established which is dedicated to promoting awareness of the drug problem and the need to prevent drug abuse. SEAMOS has conducted a national media campaign and established a small grants program and a training program, the latter conducted by the Center for Interdisciplinary Community Studies (CIEC), a Bolivian research organization. Additionally, a Narcotics Trust Fund established by the project financed a number of narcotics awareness projects independently of SEAMOS; taken together, these efforts have resulted in a skill base and accumulated materials in such areas as television documentaries, news reporting, and graphic production -- all related to awareness of the drug problem. With proper management and support, SEAMOS has the potential to mature into a full-fledged national development organization that can function as a conduit for financial support and TA to local operational projects engaged in drug abuse prevention. So far, however, SEAMOS has largely concentrated on a single area of activities -- mass communications -- directed at an undifferentiated general public. In addition, SEAMOS and the institutions associated with it require increased training to perform their current functions and to expand efforts to such areas as training and TA, program evaluation, and networking outside the country. In general, the various elements of the project need to be better coordinated in order to deliver a set of integrated messages to target audiences.