Home » Sudan Statement to the Demand Reduction Round Table

Sudan Statement to the Demand Reduction Round Table

‘In the name of God, the merciful beneficial thank you madame chairperson. Good morning, i wish you well and I very much hope that these discussions with the participation of high level delegations will bring us closer to success in terms of our efforts to counter drugs. Despite the fact that the subject of our meeting is demand reduction and preventive aspects we should have a comprehensive approach to the issue. So i would have liked to describe efforts exerted by Sudan i n the area of drug demand reduction and supply reduction in view of the fact that we have very little time let me just say that this year we organised campaigns and we have eliminated 45 tonnes of hashish. In addition to conducting operations for controlled delivery between various countries when we look at the topic that we have today, demand reduction and treatment, i should like you to note that sudan has taken several steps and we have activities that make a contribution to demand reduction and opinion. Sudan has set up a national committee bringing together civil society players – heading this committee we have a high level personality, a professor who is a physician and a former minister. Likewise sudan has set up an inter-ministerial national committee, this committee brings together all competent ministries in the area of efforts to counter drugs. We have the information ministry, the public health ministry, the finance ministry, the ministry of the interior, of social affairs, among others. This committee meets regularly and reports to the president of the republic. Likewise we have set up a federation it brings together ngos, so this spans all non governmental organisations in areas that address drug related issues. We have likewise created local committees these are known as community policy committees and they are responsible for raising awareness among young people. They also provide surveillance and monitoring of dealers so awareness raising is one fo their main responsibilities. Likewise, we have included student federations, in particular the areas of awareness raising and they attend to students in general in order to get positive peer pressure among the students. Likewise, mosques and churches participated in these activities, i.e. awareness raising, making people aware of the danger and adverse impact of drugs and within the ministry of interior, we created a radio programme, a broadcasting programme that establishes the link with the public in a variety of areas. We call this a community policy approach. Among these areas we use awareness raising so that people become aware of the negative impact of drugs. Furthermore, Sudan created a treatment centre for drug addiction. It is headed by specialist doctors who specialise in the treatment of addiction and in rehabilitation. However, this centre does require support to make sure that it can play its role in a more effective manor. Madame chairperson, sudan has an integrated study, the purpose of this is to replace cannabis cultivation. We have presented this study to unodc and that was 10 years ago. Unodc sent an expert to sudan to assess this study, and the expert reported that this study is successful and can be applied. We therefore call on unodc and all organisations to make a contribution in terms of the implementation of the study. At I would like to appeal to WHO, the World Trade Organisation and other organisations, we hope that they will be able to participate in our national survey / study because of its significance in the area of policy making and more particularly demand reduction. Without accurate data applying to drug addiction and drug abuse it is extremely difficult to devise policies and treatment programmes and in this context i would particularly pay tribute to WHO which has provided the financial resources that are necessary to engage in studies on the prevalence of drugs among workers and in an industrial environment and also among prisoners. Finally, we hope that we will all be able to cooperate so that we can jointly face and come to grips with this problem that is so important to all countries of the world. We should also exchange experiences and learn from one another so that we can better counter this problem. ‘

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