As Hilary mentioned earlier, the national anti-drug strategy is really built on three pillars. Those pillars are all designed to reduce or eliminate the negative impacts of illicit drug use and contribute to healthier and safer communities.
The health portfolio invests approximately $126 million a year to address addictions and illicit drug use in Canada. Since 2007 Health Canada has funded 139 projects to discourage illicit drug use among youth through the drug strategy community initiatives fund. Health Canada also provides $13.2 million annually to provincial and territorial governments and other key stakeholders to strengthen substance abuse treatment across Canada through the drug treatment funding program. As our minister noted, prescription drug abuse is now also being addressed through these funding programs.
Specifically with regard to prevention, the program provides approximately $9.6 million in contribution funding, and this supports a variety of recipients in delivering health promotion and prevention projects that facilitate the development of national, provincial, territorial, and local community-based solutions to drug use among youth aged 10 to 24, and promote public awareness of substance abuse issues.
More than 139,000 youth, 11,000 parents, and 2,000 work or schools have been reached through these programs. Projects have focused on capacity building: they've resulted in more than 13,000 youth and almost 5,000 teachers being trained on various topics, including peer leadership, facilitation, and life skills.
I'd note that an evaluation of that prevention program did note that the program increased awareness of healthy choices, increased perceived overall awareness of illicit drugs, increased awareness of potential problems that can affect people who use illicit drugs, decreased the likelihood of trying or regularly using marijuana, decreased the likelihood of trying or regularly using other illicit substances, and improved overall community engagement and capacity.
With regard to treatment, the program provided funding to 29 projects across Canada. I'd say that, for example, the introduction and increased reporting against national treatment indicators has provided consistent measures for treatment systems across the country for the first time. The production of evidence-based standards and guidelines has led to consistency and quality of treatment of care. Prior to the program, many PTs reported working in silos where collaboration with other sectors or regions was not a priority. Evidence shows that the program has helped to establish conditions necessary to support collaboration, including the development of a national knowledge exchange platform for all of these projects.
I can go on a little bit further in terms of first nations and Inuit health. We've invested $12.1 million to improve quality access to addiction services for first nations and Inuit. This funding has contributed to the reorienting of 36 treatment centres to more effectively meet community needs: services for women, youth, people with co-occurring mental health issues, and prescription drug abuse. It has contributed toward an increase in the number of treatment centres receiving accreditation: 82% of treatment centres were accredited in 2013, which was up from 68% in 2010. It has contributed toward an increase in addiction workers receiving training and becoming certified: 434 community-based addictions workers and treatment centre counsellors were certified in 2013, and this was up from 358 in 2010. Now 78% of all treatment centre counsellors are certified, up from 66% in 2011.
You can see the enormous impact these are having on prevention and treatment, both in first nations and other vulnerable communities, and particularly among our youth, parents of youth, schools, and teachers.