The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Solidarity of Egypt (MOSS) and together with the Ministry of Health and Population, launched the CHAMPS initiative. The launch was done in the presence of Ms. Ghada Fathy Waly, Executive Director, UNODC, Ms. Maya Morsy, Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity and Mr. Khaled Abdelghafar, Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population.
The launching event took place during the Global Congress on Population, Health and Human Development, which focused this year on the human development for a sustainable future, a key aspect of the initiative’s core goals and objectives, as CHAMPS aims at creating a healthy and safe environment for children and youth, paving the way for and facilitating sustainability.
The CHAMPS initiative is strategically timed and aligns with the current national needs in Egypt and its National Drug Control Strategy 2024-2028, which is centred around child protection and building resilient societies. Within this strategy, and in the context of the CHAMPS implementation, one of the goals is to create a multi-sectoral system, where all relevant stakeholders contribute to a comprehensive and impactful framework that tackles the country’s health responses to the drug problem from a scientific perspective and in line with the UNODC WHO International Standards on Drug Use Prevention.
Prevention is not alien to Egypt. The country has significant experience in implementing evidence-based programmes for the prevention of drug use and other risky behaviour. While the implementation of individual programmes is necessary and much needed, a comprehensive approach is a guaranteed win-win. CHAMPS will orchestrate those efforts and create harmonious dynamics among policymakers, service providers and all relevant stakeholders, to amplify the effect of prevention and prove that a systematic approach is not only effective and impactful in preventing negative social and health behaviour, but also cost-effective!
Ms. Ghada Fathy Waly, Executive Director of UNODC, in a statement addressing the congress, emphasized that in light ofcurrent developments concerning the global drug situation, the only way to protect future generations is through prevention. This approach, she noted, would alleviate the burden on the health sector caused by the rising demand for treatment and lead to a sustainable impact.
Ms. Maya Morsi, Minister of Social Solidarity, Egypt, highlighted the timely significance of the CHAMPS initiative, as it aligns with the National Drug Control Strategy of Egypt and tackles the exacerbating world drug problem, which poses a serious risk to the safety of our societies and its members, especially children and youth.
Mr. Khaled Abdelghaffar, Minister of Health, Egypt, in turn endorsed the initiative, ensuring that CHAMPS aligns with the national needs and plans of prioritizing the health of the people, particularly mental health, and in this context the significance of the initiative lies in the fact that it fosters children protection, including against mental health adversities as well as violence and the use of drugs, ensuring a healthy and safe environment for their development.
In his presentation on the CHAMPS initiative, Mr. Wadih Maalouf, Coordinator of Prevention, UNODC, highlighted that a comprehensive approach to prevention requires orchestrated multi-sectoral collaborations, which in turn allows a larger return on investment and positively changes the trajectories of the lives of millions of children.
Six months after the launch of the CHAMPS initiative, the success is building up, and the interest and trust is only growing. Following Brazil’s formal intention’s to join the initiative, Egypt is the first country to put the CHAMPS initiative in gear. Many more countries are aligned to follow suit and set such model prevention systems to protect children and support their healthy and safe development.
For more information on the progress of the CHAMPS initiative, visit the webpage here.
