Raphael Oni
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) strongly emphasizes the importance of adopting evidence-based preventive measures to address the challenges of drug and substance use worldwide. In a remark by Danilo Campisi, the UNODC Deputy Country Representative at the Press Briefing on the Commemoration of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (aka World Drug Day) on Wednesday 19, June 2024 in Abuja, UNODC identify that the war on drugs and substance use can be overcome when adequate preventive measures is in place.
In a press release made available to media men in Abuja said, “The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, or World Drug Day, is marked on 26 June every year to strengthen action and cooperation in achieving a world free of drug abuse. This year’s campaign recognizes that effective drug policies must be rooted in science, research, full respect for human rights, compassion, and a deep understanding of the social, economic, and health implications of drug use.”
It further states that. “A key highlight of the annual commemoration of World Drug Day is the publication of the World Drug Report which provides important data and information on the World Drug Problem, highlighting the trends of drug use and trafficking so that policy makers and implementers can be properly informed in developing targeted interventions and strategies to counter drug problems in their respective countries.”
The theme of this year’s World Drug Day commemoration, “The evidence is clear, let us invest in prevention” is particularly insightful for Nigeria as it highlights the importance of adopting evidence-based, preventive measures to counter drug and substance use.
We know from the 2019 National Drug Use Survey for Nigeria, that the youth prevalence of drug use in Nigeria is considerably high.
The survey estimated drug use prevalence in Nigeria at 14.4 percent, which was at the time, 3 time above the global prevalence of drug use and indicated that drug use was most prevalent among young people between the ages of 25 and 39 years. Not surprising, considering that Nigeria has a largely youthful population. Further, projections show that by 2030, there will be a 40% increase in the use of drugs in Africa, based on the population of young people.
UNODC has worked with the Government of Nigeria to develop and implement evidence-based prevention measures which include the highly successful UNPLUGGED, a school-based Drug Prevention Programme implemented together with the Federal Ministry of Education, in 110 Unity Schools and in a few states in the country,
notably Kebbi, Bayelsa and recently, Kaduna, on the initiative of the State Governments in these States. And thanks to the partnership of the MTN Foundation, the UNPLUGGED programme has been extended to somepublic schools across the country.
This programme has been proven to be effective in curbing drug and substance use among participating students. Results indicate that
students who went through at least 9 sessions of the UNPLUGGED prevention programme showed a reduction in alcohol use by 48%.
Besides the preventive effects of the programme on the use of drugs by youths, it had the additional effects of creating to a more positive classroom climate and learning environment for the students. Many schools recorded improvement in academic performance across all
subjects for the students that were opportune to experience this programme. Evidence of life skills part of the programme as well as students who were not part of this programme noting the change in
those that went through the UNPLUGGED Programme.
However, despite the success of the UNPLUGGED programme, the programme only reaches 2 percent of the school population in the country. State Governments and private school practitioners are urged to consider the implementation of the UNPLUGGED programme in their schools, so that this programme reaches a wider audience.
