UNODC to launch 4 policy documents on drug abuse

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is set to launch four different publications on policies and guidelines for controlled medicines and drug dependence treatment.

A statement from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) yesterday by the agency’s spokesman, Dr Abubakar Jimoh said it was part of efforts to tackle the problem of drug dependence among millions of Nigerian youths, and drug induced violence in the country.

The statement said the publications developed jointly by UNODC, the Federal Ministry of Health and NAFDAC would be launched next week in Abuja by the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole and NAFDAC boss, Prof Moji Christiana Adeyeye.

The four publications are: National policy for Controlled Medicines, National Minimum Standards for Drug Dependence Treatment in Nigeria, National Guidelines on Quantification of Narcotics for Medical and Scientific Purposes and National Guidelines for the Estimation of Psychotropic Substances and Precursors.

UNODC Programme officer, Elisabeth Bayer said the launch of the four publications would be followed by a formal launch in April this year in all the six geopolitical zones of the country.

According to the statement, the link between drug abuse and wide spread violence and insurgency in the country prompted the Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Mohammadu Buhari to launch a national campaign against all forms of abuse recently.