CND Thematic Discussions on Strengthening Public Health Responses to Drug Use
Session 1: Prevention as a Core Element of the Public Health Response to Drug Use
Chair: Good morning. Namaste. Welcome to the Thematic Discussions as follow-up to 2019 Ministerial Declaration. Let’s take the agenda. See no comments. Adopted. Thank you.
Secretariat: Online participants please indicate in the chat if you’d like to take the floor.
Chair: In 2024, the Commission adopted a high-level declaration at the Mid-Term Review of the 2019 Ministerial Declaration. In it, new challenges were also identified such as impacts on environment, misperceptions of risk, and health harms associated with illicit drug use. These issues will be a common theme leading up to 2029. Today, Day 1 morning we will be discussing prevention. This afternoon, health services falling short of meeting needs …
Ghada Waly, UNODC ED: Good morning. Today’s meeting comes at a critical time for international drug policy and the UN as a whole. I was in New York a few days ago where the UN80 report was presented – these reforms are suggested to make the UN fit for purpose. As we speak of global challenges, We must keep drug control firmly on the agenda. This is an opportunity to follow up on 2024 Mid-term review and chart a path forward together. The world drug problem is growing and more sophisticated and more harmful. WDR25 shows drug use is up, more people consuming multiple drugs at the same time, often lethal combination. Organized criminal networks are moving record shipments across borders generating billions in profit. Nearly a quarter of people who use drugs suffer from drug use disorders but only 1 in 11 receives the care they need. For women and especially in the Global South the gap is even bigger. Young people remain particularly vulnerable to NPS often marketed online or packed to attract. Health risks are amplified by unsafe drug injection, including HIV and Hepatitis C, especially among vulnerable groups. It places a strain on public health systems already stretched too thin. Global resources are shrinking, and we lose the ability to anticipate and respond to new trends, and lose the capacity to provide treatment that can mean the difference between a life saved and a fatal drug overdose. When investments fall, the costs multiply. More people harmed by drugs, more profits for traffickers, and weaker capacities to respond. Excellencies, if we are to meet these challenges, our efforts must be guided in science, grounded in evidence with adequate investments. I’m proud to have launched CHAMPS last year – I’m pleased 10 countries have already committed to building prevention systems for youth resilience. Yesterday welcomed the Queen of Belgium just yesterday. Herself a strong advocate of prevention and the SDGs. This year’s CND resolution on promoting prevention systems for children and adolescents must be followed with action. Laboratory analysis underpins much of our work in shaping effective drug response, including providing early warning on new substances. In 2024, the UNODC early warning advisory identified a record number of substances in a single year. I encourage Member States to strengthen early warning systems and share their data with UNODC. The stronger our tracking systems, the faster and more effectively we can respond. We must expand on research and treatment, particularly on stimulant use. UNODC with WHO and EUDA launched the Scale UP initiative in 2024, Member States adopted a resolution. It will now be essential to translate commitments to concrete actions. We also must strengthen our partnerships, especially with the private sector and tech companies. I had the privilege to meet with Meta, X, and Snap when I was in New York to discuss prevention and the Prevent Alliance that was recently launched. Drug markets are increasingly moving online and where we must focus more of our attention. Be it to take down sites that promote drugs, or to use social media where millions of youth are connected to develop content to raise awareness or encourage youth to avoid drugs. Such collaborations will be essential to protect young people from dangerous substances on digital platforms. Without sustainable funding, we can’t meet the scale and complexity of the challenge. The 2019 Ministerial Declaration is essential. UNODC stands ready to assist Member States, but we can’t do it alone – we count on your participation and progress reports. For a safer, healthier world for all.
ECOSOC: The focus this year on health is tied to the SDG agenda. .. The review benefitted greatly from the contributions of the CND. It was sobering. Preventive health remained unclear. We lack investment in health and education. The 2025 WDR is clear, drug related deaths are rising, more people are living with drug use disorders, … need to strengthen prevention especially for young people. Expand access to treatment and care. Drug and health policies must come together across sectors, with the voices of women, youth and communities at the center. To succeed, efforts must be inclusive, engage all stakeholders, all sectors, all levels. I take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to advancing international drug policy commitments as part of the 2030 Agenda. The outcome of these thematic discussions should be sent as a report to ECOSOC so it can be followed. At a time when multilateralism is strained, it is time to build bridges. Let’s work together so drug policies deliver tangible health and development gains for current and future generations.
INCB: Allow me to highlight cross-cutting issues that will be addressed – cooperation, data collection, innovation, resource mobilization. The Board is collaborating with Member States to address 2 challenges. First, through precursor control GRIDS programme, we are supporting governments with the rapid proliferation of synthetic drugs. Preventing and reducing manufacture through enhanced monitoring systems and .. helped prevent the diversion of … recently diverted 3 tons of fentanyl precursors, estimated to produce … tons of fentanyl. Nearly 25k incidents, including 850 that were processed. Second, turning to licit requirements, INCB data reveals persistent discrepancies between need and availability. This might stem from incorrect estimate of medical needs. INCB trained officials from 153 countries. Precursor control should be funded by regular budget resources. If not adequately funded, thousands of shipments would go unmonitored, … would be delayed. Accidents involving dangerous substances would multiply.
WHO: Dear colleagues and friends, WHO welcomes this year’s thematic intersectional focus on the health aspects of drug use. Harm due to non-medical drug use is a pressing public health challenge. It places a profound burden on individuals and communities, from overdose to infectious diseases such as hepatitis C to drug dependence and other mental health conditions. It drives wider negative social consequences. New harmful psychoactive substances are appearing on the illicit market every day. We also see increasing detections of falsified medicines that contain deadly drug combinations and are used for medical purposes. It is essential that we widen access to prevention and treatment. This requires stronger global actions, especially since safe, affordable access to lifesaving medications, including those that are internationally controlled, remains limited in many parts of the world. A truly effective response to drug use must be rooted in public health. With active leadership and engagement of ministries of health at all levels, their involvement ensures that prevention of drug use, treatment of drug use disorders, harm reduction, and access to controlled medicines are integrated in national policies supported by the whole of government. WHO strongly encourages the empowerment of health authorities to shape drug policies that prioritize health, wellbeing, equity, and human rights. We also call for stronger collaboration across health, justice, education, and the social sectors to build resilient systems that address drug-related harm in a coordinated way. Let us reaffirm our commitment to a balanced health-centred approach with ministries of health at the forefront of national and global efforts. I thank you.
Chair: I invite UNODC to provide the evidence snapshot of the day.
Angela Me: What is clear is that the problem is increasing, it is becoming bigger. Drug use is harmful. I will give a snapshot on the harmfulness. How big is the problem? How different is it? Different dynamics affect different geographical locations. Use of “traditional” controlled drugs and non-medical use of pharmaceuticals. Why do we care? Because drug use is harmful. Where is the harm? Why is drug use harmful? What we have documented is that this harm is preventable. At the beginning – prevent drug use before the start. Not everybody that initiates drug use, actually, not a very big percentage, end up with drug use dependence. There are a lot of elements that determine how that can be harmful. Some modifiers are preventable. Service provision, measures to minimize health consequences. Very often, a criminal justice response is more common and health response remains very limited. 1 out of 8 women who need treatment receive it.
Chair: I was informed this is Ms Angela Me’s last day at UNODC. We wish you all the best. You escape those facts with a smile.
Secretariat: On behalf of the SGB team – you have been the voice of evidence and the heart of research. The data is clear, your legacy is statistically significant. Thank you!
EXPERT PANEL DISCUSSION
Intro & Expert moderator: Mr. Wadih Maalouf, Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section, UNODC: The science of prevention is finally being recognized, evolving language in resolutions, prevention is finally prioritized. We see the development of new tools for service providers. Member States pledged to invest in prevention in 2024 – evidence is clear, invest in prevention. There is a growing understanding that if done right, prevention goes beyond just drug use. A major milestone is the launch of the CHAMPS initiative that puts all tools into action, supporting children and adolescents. Despite progress, the investment has decreased. Despite this generation facing unprecedented challenges,… we applaud the public-private partnership and public companies coming in … Invest in prevention. The evidence is clear. The time is right.
Prof. Francis Grace Duka-Pante, Director of ASEAN Training Center for Preventive Drug Education, Ass. Prof. at University of Philippines (in person): ACT application – A stands for amplifying voice of prevention. Dissemination of universal curriculum, since that we’ve seen a shift from law enforcement to health-based response in the Philippines. C stands for cultivate – cultivate a global culture of care. Using faith-based organizations. T stands for translating prevention to approaches that are relevant. Otherwise we are doing more harm than good.
Moderator: What would policymakers need in terms of help, especially investment in prevention?
Mr. Athanasios Theocharis, National Coordinator for Addictions and President of the National Organisation for Prevention and Addiction Treatment (NOPAT), Greece (in person): Policymakers need 3 tools. First, evidence-base. Second, institutional capacity and access. And third, data and monitoring. Let me explain. With prevention, we are talking about things that are measurable. Greece applies the European prevention curriculum. It is easier for the government to advocate for sustainable funding from EU or other schemes when it is in policy. Lastly, data and monitoring – prevention must show results. The benefits of prevention are not seen after many many years, and politicians always need to see very near to their political future outcomes. Funding is underrated. Prevention is not just a need, it’s a necessity. Women, Roma people, other people in need. If policymakers have these, they can be….. As a new member of CHAMPS, you should invest in this initiative.
Moderator: Data remains key. If you see a problem and reacting, that’s one thing. But if you are preventing a problem you can’t see that’s a different level of data investment you need.
Moderator: How can prevention address crime, organized crime, prevention of recruitment of children and youth to criminal orgs?
Ms. Marica Ferri, Head of the Health and Social Responses Sector, EUDA (online): Prevention is a form of socialization. From health and social responses perspective, .. should not be regarded as a criminal justice matter, but underlying vulnerabilities. Prevention delivering a range of outcomes, including resilience to disruption like organized crime. Sustainable approaches engage several stakeholders – through multisectoral collaboration, expand opportunities to reduce the need to rely on substance use and illegal activities to finance drug use. Reinforcing protective factors is essential to mitigate factors that might otherwise lead to involvement in crime.
UNODC, Chair: In light of decreased funding, how can low and middle income countries keep the momentum on prevention going?
Ms. Francisca Oblitas, Chief of the National Service for Prevention and Rehabilitation Program Division (SENDA), Chile (online) – Investing in prevention is essential to achieve sustainable development in LMIC. Declining global funding is a real challenge, and it is also a reminder that countries like mine need to focus on what’s more sustainable, and that is prevention. We are protecting children and families and give tools to be safer. It creates long-term socioeconomic benefits. The principles of common and shared responsibility are key – collaboration is not just giving money, it is sharing expertise, information. Global health and development are collective goods. When we have prevention, everyone benefits. Behind every child there is a community that deserves opportunity.
Moderator: How can young people more actively involved in co-implementing prevention measures? How can we foster youth leadership?
Ms. Margret Lilja Gudmundsdottir, Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (online) Planet Youth: Young people are active partners in shaping today and the future and need to be involved in decision making. We have to look at children and youth, they must not only be visible but listened to. We could talk about co-creation. We can invite youth to co-design prevention strategies. We want them on our team when we are testing the message in local campaigns. Another thing is leadership. Youth leadership grows when adults step back. Youth advisory groups and platforms where youth can influence policy directly. Youth voices should be institutionalised. Skill based training, communications and advocacy so young people have competence and confidence. This is not a youth side project, but a central element of prevention. We also know about the digital space that we are maybe not part of.
Moderator: Youth should be equal professional counterparts. They are participatory agents. if the time allows, will make second round of questions.
Prof. Francis Grace Duka-Pante: lack of expertise and capacity in the field of monitoring and evaluation. Recommendation would be to harmonize efforts and integrate them to existing mechanisms so we don’t reinvent the wheel. Through concerted efforts, we can move to a more pre-emptive response.
Moderator: How can prevention be coordinated across different sectors?
Mr. Athanasios Theocharis, National Coordinator for Addictions and President of the National Organisation for Prevention and Addiction Treatment (NOPAT), Greece: We will not reinvent the wheel. Prevention can only succeed if it is a whole of society effort. In Greece we have interministerial coordination – 11 ministries, EUDA focal point, civil society, and the users opinion – for the first time included. Brings together expertise and lived experience. Prevention should be integrated with education. Colleagues in CHAMPS support. Community-level partnerships can make prevention a shared responsibility at the local level, with local leaders, which is very crucial. We have to have digital coordination. With this context of markets moving online, they reach young people in different ways we didn’t have before. In Greece, we have the first national monitoring observatory for digital addictions to establish trends and collaboration with authority on gambling. Create a new setting on addictive behaviours in general.
Moderator: How would you reconcile international standards with local realities? E.g. prevention guidelines, ensuring relevance of global science.
Mr. Athanasios Theocharis: Standards give us what works and why it works. Adaption defines how we can do these programs. You have to identify what is the core component and what are adaptable elements. You can’t take the life skills, but you can change how you develop it with communities. Work with Indigenous communities, is very interesting. Using lots of feedback loops, piloting is a good thing to do. Locals tell us what works and why it works
Moderator: South-South collaboration. What is the next frontier?
Ms. Marica Ferri, EUDA: This is a very stimulating question. New frontiers are shaped by rapidly evolving societies. Increasing cultural and language diversity, work patterns, new lifestyles and social groups. New types of social inclusion can also be created. We need to be responsive. Emergence of NPS requires adaptation for effectiveness, prevention research must foster dialogue. EUDA prevention curriculum and e-learning. We must provide opportunities for exchange on best and bad practices.
Moderator: Civil society perspective, how do you see the momentum moving forward? E.g. Oviedo Declaration.
Planet Youth: this is team work and team building. Oviedo Declaration shows prevention is not an isolated activity. Civil society involvement bring community trust and flexibility. We need to strengthen prevention as the common language of collaboration. Education, youth health and development.
Moderator: It’s important to know this is a unique platform, bringing in research capacity to talk to a lot of policymakers. My recommendation to panellists would be to urge specific policy actions. We are aware of issues. I have a question. When you look at primary prevention strategies, as a policy maker you need to be accountable on resource allocation.. why should I allocate to prevention if I can’t measure the impact? Are there any innovations that could be scaled across geographies and cultures?
Mr. Athanasios Theocharis: we created a platform where we know real time what the prevention centres do, how many people are in a focused intervention, how much does it cost, how many resources we used for this. Might be too detailed, but it is something we should know. If we know how much money we spent and the resources we have to address needs, it’s much easier to be critical and have leftovers to allocate to other needs.
Moderator: Through investment….
CND Chair: I open floor to Member States questions.
Mexico: Angela, you’re not leaving unscathed. Regarding World Drug Report – have you worked on developing indicators of measuring … Second, speaks of providing proper training on prescribing properly or not overprescribing. What are the measures you have taken to provide capacity building?
Ms Angela Me: We don’t have indicators to quantify the size, but we triangulate, using seizure, price.. what we can say based on that is only the trend that it is increasing. How much it is increasing we can’t.
Moderator: there is a specific program on controlled medications
Colombia: Ms Me, all the best. Ms Me was clear that drug use is increasing over time. So why is prevention not working? Why are we not seeing the results we expect on all these investments? In matters of age, type of drug being used. Ms Me mentioned increase… New communication and information technologies – how can we…?
CND Chair: I don’t think we can say prevention doesn’t work. Maybe if we didn’t have it there would be even more users.
Moderator: Part of increase in drug use is related to population growth. We have WHO standards information that quantified how much we save by these interventions…
Prof. Francis Grace Duka-Pante: Communications is the key, agencies are doing preventive work but not speaking to each other. Responding to fragmentation
Moderator: I think Colombia said fragmentation might be necessary
Colombia: The question is how can we manage fragmentation while responding to different needs.
Mr. Athanasios Theocharis: rapid evolution of societies. Considering technology and what we can use – we can use AI, algorithms – In Greece, the platform we will implement is going to see all the aspects, all the patterns, all the trends that young people have concerning their addictive behaviours, will come as a feedback to us. We will have targeted apps for alcohol and other addictions. Kids wallets – we will have a common act for age verification for children on social media to stop the use. These are many points of feedback on info we want to have.
Ms. Francisca Oblitas: Prevention works. We need to invest more.
Ms. Marica Ferri, EUDA: We appreciate the provocative question. We have a new class of policymakers who want to do well and we need to support them. Exchange at EUDA is a program for being evaluated – we score for the certainty of success. We will soon change the curriculum- We provide tips for the implementers, and you can contact other implementers who overcame possible barriers. About effectiveness, another nice provocative one – we do see reduction among children. What was mentioned before is that other behaviours are coming up – vaping, use of technology, gaming. We need to train professionals to clearly communicate, but challenges are never ending.
Oman: Each community has their own risk factors, each community is presenting the program effective to that community.
CND Chair: Thank you Oman, I invite you to share your success story. You can have a peer to peer competition. We have Russia.
Russian Federation: Thank you Angela for your tremendous work. We will miss you. You are a cornerstone in the UN system. On prevention, I would ask the panellists what they think about digitalization and the use of social media? We need to adjust efforts to modern developments. To Colombia’s point, we believe without prevention the figures on the screen would be several times higher. Prevention definitely works. In the view of my delegation, UNODC and CND progressed a lot in conceptualising prevention and CHAMPS is the best example of this. We look forward to receiving the results of the first pilots. I believe this would be crucial to talk about real progress in terms of c… We are at a crucial point and progress might be reversed because of lack of funding.
Planet Youth: We need to commit to prevention every day.
Romania: Good luck Angela. Sure there are more interesting things to explore. Thank you for your effort. Scientific data shows us campaigns in digital sector are not efficient but useful channel for prevention campaigns? Is there any type of digital media campaign that is efficient?
Moderator: Prevent alliance expert group report. Building resilience online is something we will do with prevent alliance in 2026, on social media and a piloting. This is a work in progress. It is critical thinking that is missing, everyone knows everything about drugs. But young people are relying on ChatGPT too much, how could they critically analyze the information from governments?
CND Chair: Would like to ask panelists about stigma. Particularly tertiary prevention.
Planet Youth: I’m coming from primary prevention, I see it talking to parents when their child is struggling, they also face stigma, so this is something we have to work on. Hope you have people who can answer this.
Ms. Francisca Oblitas, Chief of the National Service for Prevention and Rehabilitation Program Division (SENDA), Chile: Big issue, stigma. We have to work together. For many times prevention is addressed from a dark place, giving bad messages about consumers. We need to be serious and not scare people. We have to make efforts.
EUDA: I ordered a review of risks of media campaigns not reaching their target 10 years ago so I feel responsible. What we learned is we need to speak the right language to right audience. Just to say something about stigma, in our new mandate, we have the EU drug strategy which is excellent, and in our mandate we are requested to collaborate with civil society. And this is fantastic to make sure we don’t create unwanted risks for stigma.
Ecuador: It is important to prevent violence, we don’t value that so much in this session. The impact in vulnerable societies – the level of education, poverty…
(…)
CND Chair: I wish to thank all of you for the very engaging discussions. Now open the floor for statements.
EU: 27 EU member states, Albania … Norway, Moldova, Ukraine .. align themselves with this statement. As we meet today, conflict and violence are unfolding, affecting also drug situation and public health response. The EU calls for full respect of international law, in Russia’s war in Ukraine and the conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. The ongoing discussions at EU level, the crucial role of prevention has been … what is crucial is to rely on evidence-based prevention activities with sufficient societal coverage in compliance with human rights standard. We are proud of the European prevention curriculum. It helps equip practitioners. We believe it is important for countries to rely on such key guidance in design and implementation, in line with CND resolutions on prevention, particularly early. Youth involved in drug trafficking – crucial to address this by offering education and alternatives to a life in crime. The EU will continue to… for healthier more resilient societies, we must focus on prevention, fostering strong .. It should be our key focus.
CND Chair: We have 15 speakers, 30 mins. 2 mins each.
Peru: 3 priority objectives. Reduce drug use. The government consolidated prevention as a priority, integrated …. Training of teacher, health professionals, specialized teams. Prevention programs focus on schools. International assessment maintain that Peru has one of the lowest rates among school populations. 2 factors: early initiation and limited therapeutic care.
Canada: We support a full continuum of interventions to address overdose crisis. We highlight the importance of prevention, including public prevention initiatives, including interactive experiences. We engage with youth and teens about the facts of overdoses, and reducing stigma. We have launched a youth substance use prevention programme, focusing on promoting protective factors, health and well-being. High rates of opioid prescribing continues to drive overdose deaths. We aim to reinforce tools and training on this. We recognise the ongoing reconciliation process with Indigenous People, who bear a high cost in relation of overdose deaths. We focus on culturally adequate and safe programmes. We ensure targeted messaging for those most at risk. We are hosting a special event today on synthetic drugs, we invite everyone to join.
China: All the topics in this discussion are important. China puts prevention first, focusing on youth prevention and education and the entire population. Schools carry out prevention activities, including knowledge contests. Almost 100 million students participate each year. It influences families and society. We also organise prevention education in schools, work places, families, communities and villages. We promote anti-drug activities and publicity. We expanded media platforms to increase tour reach. We protect people’s physical and mental health and their social stability. The growth rate of drug use in China has stabilised and been brought under control.
Japan: Drug control is an urgent global challenge. It’s not only eroding public society but it is also a threat to peace and security. We have developed comprehensive measures in partnership with UNODC. IT is the shared responsibility of all MS to implement responses, not as an act of self protection but as essential contributions for a more resilient international community. In line with our priorities, we have placed emphasis on rehab and social reintegration of people with drug use disorders. Judicial procedures are a window of opportunity to promote long term recovery. To this end, we provide continuity of care from incarceration to integration, offering long term support, guidance and treatment. ON preventing relapse, the MoJ and MoH are coordinating their responses, MoH, labour and welfare prevent relapse for people arrested of drug offences who receive suspended sentences, ensuring nobody is left behind. Our community-based support system has been developed, with recovery programmes, training for professionals, including through psychosocial care, not as a moral failing. International cooperation is a strategic investment in human dignity.
Colombia: Prioritising evidence=based investment is essential to reduce the negative consequences of problematic use and protecting health but also as a comprehensive care intervention. We guarantee prevention, treatment and care and promote strategies to reduce risks, harms and stihma linked to such use. Official data in Colombia show that consumption of tobacco is reducing. While recognising differences between substances under control and those not under control, we can learn. Prevention is necessary, but it has to be grounded in knowledge and evidence, not fear. Criminalisation and stigma do not promote drug use but exacerbate risks and harms. Prevention requires the participation of young people, and address the underlying standards of health.
Pakistan: Prevention is the best measure while tackling drug use. Prevention should remain a cornerstone of a holistic approach to addressing the drug problem. Over the years we have undertaken wide ranging measures such as public awareness, educational settings, capacity building of health professionals for early detection. We have fostered partnerships among families, educators, civil society and the media. We have leveraged sports personalities to sensitise youth about the harms associated with drug use. We thank international partners including UNODC for technical assistance. Prevention should be completed with strong law enforcement measures. We reject measures that go against the three international drug control conventions.
USA: We remain steadfast in our commitment to reduce drug use. It also helps mitigate the health and social harms. Substance use among children is often associated with chronic conditions and mental illness later in life, including violence and risk of injuries. It undermines the wellbeing of individuals. Substance use, chronic diseases and mental health share similar factors. Prevention programmes among families have led to reductions in drug use. Prevention is also cost-effective, including early childhood prevention and community prevention. Early investment and work with schools and communities can help to build more resilient societies.
South Africa: We extend our appreciation to UNODC for commemorating the international day against drug abuse under the slogan ‘break the cycle’. The UNODC WDR highlights drug use and trafficking in our continent. We are committed to a comprehensive drug policy focuses on health, community engagement and evidence. We have adopted a comprehensive and multipronged approach focusing on prevention, treatment and rehab. We emphasise primary prevention through educational programmes in schools, community outreach initiatives. Prevention is better than cure. Our youth focused prevention reaches young people and is driven by youth themselves who share their experiences. We roll out online programmes in schools, including with partnerships with UNICEF and others. We do online safety curriculums, we also continue to do drugs and alcohol screening tests. We have established an inter-ministerial committee on drug abuse to confront drugs in our country, including threats relating to synthetic drugs.
Turkey: In line with SDG target 3.5, we promote a society free of drug abuse with the full implementation of all our commitments including the 2019 Minsiterial Devclaration. Prevention services should include the meaningful participation of all stakeholders at all levels. We welcome cooparations with UNODC and the Turkish Green Crescent Society which is a member of VNGOC. Turkey has launched an action plan against drugs in collaboration with MoH, institutions and NGOs. As part of our prevention efforts, we focus on children, adolescents and young people. Drug combatting counselling and support line is available 24/7. We also increased inpatient treatment centres, by 376% in the last 10 years. Outpatient programmes have also increased. Waiting times have been reduced, people seeking treatment are seen on the same day. People without health insurance can access counselling and treatment. Work place prevention has also been implemented. We reiterate our commitment to combatting drug abuse.
Thailand: We reaffirm that prevention is an indispensable pillar for drug use. We focus on vulnerable groups, including youth. Prevention must start early. For early childhood, we have structured programmes, including families with parenting skills. For adolescents we launched TikTok campaigns. We focus on peer engagement and mental resilience. The ONCB adopts a whole society approach with concerned agencies, to integrate prevention in school curricula and reach vulnerable groups. We have had successful outcomes with an increase in registering drug users into treatment. We administer data collection and early warning systems. With timely data inputs by all ASEAN members, we can anticipate issues and responses. With UNODC, in the Mekong region, we have established a working group for which Thailand is active Chair. As a member of the CND, we promote evidence based prevention as a cornerstone of global drug policy. We commit to a resilient society, safe and free from drugs.
Chair: We will now have a small session called “Pledge for Action”, so that Member States can report on progress made.
Philippines: On behalf of the Philippines, I extend our gratitude for this opportunity and reaffirm our commitment to global cooperation in addressing the WDP. Through the Dangerous Drugs Board, we commit to reforms, human rights, public health and the SDGs. Under the leadership of President Marcos Junior, we promote a balanced and compassionate approach. The campaign against illegal drugs continues, but it has taken a new phase focused on treatment, rehab and reintegration. It rests on a three-pronged strategy. In the short term, an executive order has been released to harmonise demand and supply reduction and development services under the rule of law and respect for human rights. In the long term, we are working on legislative amendments to ensure responsive, balanced and effective responses. We integrate prevention and treatment, we strengthen rehab centre accreditation, enhance legal protections, and focus on trafficking. We aim to streamline access to treatment and rehab, ensuring services are more responsive and humane. We foster collaboration to sustain reforms. We remain committed to a balanced approach focused on health, human rights and the SDGs. Through international solidarity, we can reduce the harms of drugs and build safer communities.
Ecuador: In 2024, the Minister has made two pledges to address the WDP. Establishment of an analysis centre dedicated to controlled substances via the monitoring of trafficking routes: we have established such a centre, duly accredited by the Ministry of Interior, staffed with police and experts. A public procurement process has been made to ensure the operationalisation of the centre. International cooperation efforts have been conducted to identify and analyse chemical substances. A task force comprised of military and police has also been established, including to oversee air and sea spaces. It has played a key role in targeting terrorists, organised crime and drug trafficking. It has become a crucial support in the fight against drug trafficking. We will continue these initiatives, led by the President of the Republic and carried out by the Ministry of Interior. We will confront one of the worst security crises in the history of our country.
Egypt: This important event expresses the true concept of international cooperation in combatting the WDP. We thank the UNODC and CND in successful efforts in organising this thematic discussion. In light of the Pledge for Action, we established an training centre and new headquarters of anti-narcotics administration. We announced this opening at the 68th CND session. The Centre is used to organise different activities, including workshops and other events. It is equipped to host meetings involving high profile figures and officials from international drug control agencies. It operates clinical labs, medical clinic, cafeteria, restaurant, gym. The training programme focuses on targeting illicit drugs and synthetic drugs, surveillance missiles and investigation techniques, etc. I thank CND and UNODC for their role in coordinating international efforts and combatting international drug trafficking, to protect societies from the dangers of drug problems.
Chair: I will close this meeting now and we will start again at 15:00.
UNODC: I thank the generosity of the panellists for their time and expertise. We will provide a summary of everything that was discussed.
Chair: For those who didn’t speak, we will pick up the discussion either at the start or at the end of the next session.
CND Secretariat: There is an event in Room CR3 at 13:30, organised by Canada.