Beirut, Lebanon – 26 June 2022
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in cooperation with DunkinDonuts (DD) launched an awareness-raising campaign in all DD branches on the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, known as World Drug Day (WDD), marked annually on the 26th of June to strengthen action and cooperation in achieving a world free of drug abuse.
This year’s World Drug Day theme, “Addressing drug challenges in health and humanitarian crises”, is tackling existing and emerging transnational drug challenges stemming from situations of crisis. Within the Lebanese context, UNODC conveyed the messages "صحتك بالدني" or “your health, your wealth” and “Empowering Youth, Transforming Lives, Making a Difference” enabling 3,000 youth and families across the country to have access to information through 3 different QR codes linked to UNODC’s websites: youth initiative, drug prevention, and WDD. In an effort to ‘leave no one behind’, the messages were placed on daily produced bread bags and DD takeaway deliveries that were disseminated to 1,500 prisoners including 200 children and youth in detention.
This initiative is part of the regional project “Youth Empowerment for Impact” in the Middle East and North Africa, which supports young men and women, boys and girls, including the most vulnerable and at-risk youth, to gain resilience against the risks of drugs, crime and violence and to be empowered to face life’s challenges.
Relevant and essential information on the topic can be found in the UNODC World Drug Report (WDR) which is released annually. The WDR 2022 presents an overview of the current trends on global drug markets and includes the latest information on drug use, production, and trafficking.
UNODC continues to advocate to protect the right to health for the most vulnerable, including children and youth, people using drugs, people with drug use disorders, and people who need access to controlled medicines.
For further information, please contact:
Renee Sabbagh: Head of Office in Lebanon, Programme specialist
E-mail: renee.sabbagh@un.org
