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SOLID stands for “Social work and strengthening NGOs in development cooperation to treat drug addiction.” SOLID is an international project focusing on the development of social work as a field of research and profession in Central Asia and China. In SOLID, we are working towards strengthening social work approaches in addiction treatment and prevention and towards overcoming stigma and discrimination. The focus of our work is on the three core areas of the SOLID project:

1

Social Work and the Treatment of Drug Addiction

Social work and the treatment of drug addiction with a focus on opioid, alcohol and nicotine addiction and psychosocial support and counselling for people with substance use disorders.

2

Social Work and Communicable Diseases

Social work and communicable diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis C) with a focus on prevention and harm reduction programmes.

3

Social Work with People in Closed Institutions

Social work with people in closed institutions, such as prisons and other closed settings.

News

18 November 2025

SOLID Researchers Mariya Prilutskaya and Guzalkhon Present at the XI International Conference on Novel Psychoactive Substances in Nice, France

SOLID

At the XI International Conference on Novel Psychoactive Substances (Nice, France, 3–4 November 2025), Dr. Mariya Prilutskaya (Kazakhstan) and Dr. Guzalkhon Zakhidova (Uzbekistan) represented Central Asia in high-level discussions on emerging synthetic drugs.

18 November 2025

Report from the Congress of the German Society for Addiction Medicine 2025

Dr. Ingo Ilja Michels

From 06.-08. In November 2025, the German Society for Addiction Medicine (DGS) invited people to the 34th annual congress in Leipzig for 3 packed days full of seminars, workshops and exchanges for practice, clinics, addiction help and research.

26 October 2025

Drugged Sociology in the Semi-Periphery: Psychoactive Substances, Governance, and Resistance in Central and Eastern Europe

SOLID

On the 17th of October, our SOLID member Kasia Kowalczyk attended a "Drugged Sociology in the Semi-Periphery: Psychoactive Substances, Governance, and Resistance in Central and Eastern Europe" event

14 October 2025

Invisible and Ignored: Women and Drugs in Central Asia

SOLID

On October 13, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Kasia Kowalczyk from the SOLID team participated in a discussion dedicated to the newly released book on women who use drugs (Invisible and Ignored: Women and Drugs in Central Asia).

8 October 2025

25th World Congress of Psychiatry

SOLID

Together with the Czech Psychiatric Association and Slovak Psychiatric Association, the 25th WPA World Congress of Psychiatry WCP 2025: World Congress of Psychiatry was held in Prague, Czech Republic, from October 5-8, 2025.

29 September 2025

Deutscher Suchtkongress: Berlin, 22-24.09.2025

SOLID

This week we attended the Deutscher Suchtkongress. The German Addiction Congress is one of the most important and largest interdisciplinary events on the topics of drugs and addiction in Germany. We had an opportunity to present the results of our study, "Methamphetamine in Central Asia".

10 October 2025

Meeting at NUU (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) 07.10.2025

SOLID

On October 7, we held a meeting at the Mirzo Ulugbek National University of Uzbekistan (NUU), which is a partner in the SOLID project. During the meeting, Dr. Ulla Papa and Dr. Kasia Kowalczyk delivered a lecture to NUU students on the SOLID project and on Social Work in Germany.

26 September 2025

SOLID Talk on New Psychoactive Substances in Central Asia, 2 October 2025 at 14:00 CET (17:00 Astana)

SOLID

On 2 October 2025 at 14:00 CET (17:00 Astana and Tashkent, 18:00 Bishkek, 20:00 Shanghai) Mariya Prilutskaya will present her book "New Psychoactive Substances. Studies from Central Asia and China".

3 September 2025

PhD Defense of Dalida Mukasheva

SOLID

On 3rd of September 2025, Dalida Mukasheva successfully defended her PhD dissertation at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Astana, Kazakhstan.

25 August 2025

SOLID Kick Off Meeting (27.10.2025 - 31.10.2025)

SOLID

The SOLID Project kick-off meeting will be held in Nuremberg from October 27–31, 2025. Partners from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and China will gather to exchange knowledge and plan future collaboration in social work and addiction research.