State responses to the Annual Report Questionnaire in 2020 and 2022.
The production and collection of drug-related data is a key challenge in Central and West Africa. The unavailability of reliable data on drug use and trafficking is a major obstacle to the development of evidence-based prevention and demand reduction strategies in the region.
To respond to this challenge, Member States have mobilized significant resources, with the support of UNODC and technical and financial partners, to improve drug data production and collection, in line with the drug control conventions[i].
This includes holding data-crunching workshops such as the one held last June 2023 in Niamey, Niger. From 23 to 24 June 2023, UNODC organized a regional workshop to strengthen national capacities in producing, collecting and analyzing data to inform prevention policies in combating drug use and trafficking.
27 national drug-data focal points from West and Central Africa participated to the workshop, under the hospices of the National Commission for the Coordination of Drug Control of Niger. It consisted in a presentation of UN-mandated data collection tools, such the Annual Report Questionnaire (ARQ) and the Individual Drug Seizure Questionnaire (IDS), and in a practical session on using these tools.
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In recent years, there have been significant increases in the number and quality of submissions prepared by Member States in the region, contributing to painting a clearer and more accurate picture of the regional and global drug problem in publications like the World Drug Report. [ii] In 2020, only 5 countries out of 23 submitted responses to the ARQ. By 2022, 15 Member States out of 23 had submitted or were in the process of submitting data on drugs, which represents an increase of 200%. UNODC would like to welcome this progress and to reaffirms its willingness to continue to support Member States in their efforts to produce, collect and analyze drugs and crime related data. This workshop was funded by Denmark, Norway and Germany. |
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[i] The International Drug Control Conventions are:
