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To this end, the OID in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat hosted and funded the Training Workshop for National Coordinators of Drug Information Networks in Kingstown, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, October 6-8, 2008 for five countries. They are Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Haiti, Guyana and Dominica. The objectives of the workshop were to introduce participants to the concepts that underpin a NATDIN, to teach the steps that are required to establish a NATDIN, to examine the elements of a NATDIN and to see how they work together, to provide a set of tools for network coordinators to establish and maintain a network in their respective countries and to discuss the experiences of other countries’ information networks.

The focus of the meeting was to encourage discussion on the topic, highlighting the individual difficulties faced by each country in establishing a NATDIN. It also provided the opportunity for in
depth discussions with representatives from Trinidad and Tobago, and Grenada, who have both successfully maintained NATDINs. The main point developed in the workshop is that coordinators need to focus first and foremost on creating a network of data sharing before focusing on the
systems. That is, the coordinator must build strong inter-personal relationships with key personnel
in the various agencies to engender a culture of data sharing before incorporating computerized systems. [Read More]