Stories from UNODC Nigeria

UNODC and NDLEA partner to sensitize the Nigerian Governors Wives on Drug Use, Treatment, Prevention and Care

Abuja, 30 June 2022: In 2019, with the support of the European Union and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, Nigeria officially launched its first ever comprehensive national survey on drug use and health -  Drug Use in Nigeria 2018 . The survey revealed that Nigeria has over 14.3 million people who use drugs and 1 in 4 of these population is a woman or girl. Even more alarming is the data that indicates that only 1 in 20 people in treatment for using drugs, is a woman. Whilst there is a generally acknowledged dearth of drug treatment services in Nigeria, the gap is even more disproportionate for female drug users who for a myriad reason are unable to access treatment as easily as their male counterparts. This is further buttressed by the findings of the  World Drug Report 2022 .[Read More]

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UNODC World Drug Report 2022 highlights trends on cannabis post-legalization, environmental impacts of illicit drugs, and drug use among women and youth

Abuja, 27 June ‐ Cannabis legalization in parts of the world appears to have accelerated daily use and related health impacts, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)'s  World Drug Report 2022. Released today, the report also details record rises in the manufacturing of cocaine, the expansion of synthetic drugs to new markets, and continued gaps in the availability of drug treatments, especially for women.  

According to the report, around 284 million people aged 15-64 used drugs worldwide in 2020, a 26 per cent increase over the previous decade. Young people are using more drugs, with use levels today in many countries higher than with the previous generation. In Africa and Latin America, people under 35 represent the majority of people being treated for drug use disorders.

Globally, the report estimates that 11.2 million people worldwide were injecting drugs. Around half of this number were living with hepatitis C, 1.4 million were living with HIV, and 1.2 million were living with both.[Read More]

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DrugHelpNet: A Lifeline for Female Drug Users in the midst of a pandemic

The theme of  World Drug Day 2022 is 'health and humanitarian crises'. To  commemorate the Day, UNODC is highlighting its work on drug prevention and treatment around the world, particularly in crisis situations.

 

Nigeria, 24 June 2022 - Yemisi, a student at a university in Nigeria, had two problems in early 2020.

She was a drug user. And she was pregnant - without the knowledge of her conservative Nigerian family, who were also unaware of her drug habit.

When Nigeria imposed a lockdown following the outbreak of COVID-19, Yemisi's university closed, and she had to return to her family. Already five months pregnant at the time, Yemisi had yet to enroll in prenatal treatment and was using a cocktail of drugs - cannabis, codeine, diazepam - all harmful to her and her unborn child. Yemisi worried most about how her father, who was severely ill, would react.[Read More]

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