Director-General/Executive Director
Your Excellency Secretary Levy,
Your Excellency Undersecretary Mantovano,
Distinguished speakers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is an honour to join this global call for action for evidence-based treatment to address substance use disorders.
I thank the Governments of Italy and Switzerland for organizing this event.
I am also glad to see that many diverse countries have joined as co-sponsors, demonstrating a shared understanding that providing services based on science for the people who need them is a priority shared by all.
The global call to action is timely, and much needed. According to the 2023 UNODC World Drug Report, opioids account for some 38 per cent of people in treatment for drug use disorders, while accounting for 69 per cent of direct drug-related deaths.
Fewer than 20 per cent of people with drug use disorders are in treatment globally, with stark differences in service availability between regions.
Moreover, access remains highly unequal within societies, with stigma and discrimination keeping some people who use drugs from being able to seek help.
Women who use drugs often progress to drug use disorders faster than men, but they continue to be underrepresented in drug treatment.
For example, almost half the people who use amphetamine-type stimulants are women, but only 27 per cent of those receiving treatment are women.
We urgently need countries to step up and close the global treatment gap.
This session of the CND with its high-level segment is the right time to commit more resources and more assistance to countries so they can substantially increase access to effective, ethical, and non-discriminatory treatment and care, in line with the UNODC/WHO International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders.
Since 2009, UNODC and WHO have been working together closely through the joint Programme on Drug Dependence Treatment and Care.
Since 2015, our office has supported at least 73 countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, to advance evidence-based treatment of drug use disorders.
UNODC is committed to continuing our support to Member States, promoting holistic, coordinated approaches to implementing the International Standards in their countries, with a focus on the needs of women, young people, people in contact with the criminal justice system, people on the move, and people in humanitarian settings.
As part of our efforts, UNODC is calling on countries to scale up and support effective interventions for a growing challenge, namely the treatment of stimulant use disorders.
Increasing use of stimulants is a problem in different regions, and while effective psychosocial therapies exist, effective pharmacological interventions are only now being developed.
The new UNODC #ScaleUp initiative aims to bring together Member States, researchers and civil society to strengthen the evidence base on treatment of stimulant use disorders, and improve treatment implementation.
Moreover, the increasing availability and use of synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances are further multiplying challenges in treating drug use disorders, and comprehensive responses based on the international standards are needed to address these concerning trends and protect the health of communities.
Such responses must encompass key public health approaches such as universal access to health care and non-stigmatizing and person-centred health and social services, along a continuum of care.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
We need the support and political will of our Member States to help ensure that stigma does not prevail.
Only together can we ensure that drug use disorders are treated with the highest possible standards of healthcare, and that people with drug use disorders are not punished for suffering from a health condition that is often chronic and relapsing.
In this regard, I welcome this event’s objective of sharing experiences and best practices in overcoming obstacles to providing evidence-based services to address drug use disorders.
Countries, especially developing countries, need more than examples and lessons learned.
They need technical assistance and capacity building to scale up access to people-centred public health services in a sustainable manner, and I urge donors to demonstrate their commitment to this worthy goal.
UNODC remains your partner in promoting science and protecting people, as essential building blocks to evidence-based approaches to the world drug problem.
I thank you and wish you fruitful discussions.