Following the sixth reform of Belgian state and government institutions, responsibility for important
aspects of drug treatment policy has been transferred from the federal state to the regions. The special-
ised drug treatment services subsidised by the Belgian National Health Insurance Institute (day centres,
crisis intervention centres, medical-social care centres and therapeutic communities) are henceforth a
regional responsibility. In response to this development, a policy note on addiction ‘recovery’ in Flanders
has been formulated. In this contribution we describe the current situation arising from these reforms
alongside the concept of recovery and how this has been interpreted and incorporated into the policy
options set out in the recent policy note. We conclude with reflections on the future challenges for
(Flemish) drug treatment policy.