The purpose of the CORI (Core Origin and Relationship Issues) project is to understand the drivers of high-risk behaviors and substance abuse. CORI arose from a nexus of interest in response to:

• the requests for assistance made to NPF by local community organizers in Russia who recognized a need to address the critical social issues created by substance abuse in their communities, and


• an inquiry from the Ohrstrom Foundation (the CORI project funder) to coordinate the development of better diagnostic toolkits in support of treatment programs.

Success rates for addiction treatment are low in every country in part because we do not adequately understand the drivers of certain high-risk behaviors. Recognizing this need, the Ohrstrom Foundation has provided NPF with grants over the last three years to coordinate original scientific research that will help the treatment community gain a better understanding of whether there are common, "syndromic" features underlying high-risk behaviors and whether this knowledge might lead to better therapies. Many treatment specialists feel that there is too little diagnostic resolution making it difficult to match interventions to patients. This imprecision arises, in part, from a lack of robust diagnostic tools. NPF has been working with leading researchers in the US to help coordinate research to develop more precise diagnostic tools that should help the treatment community develop patient-tailored treatment programs specifically in these grassroots treatment settings. The resulting tools will improve the effectiveness and provide a foundation for NPF health diplomacy projects related to high-risk behaviors in Russia, the Middle East, and elsewhere.