ISLAMABAD: Minister for Narcotics Control Shazain Bugti on Wednesday emphasised the need for strategies to control drug abuse in the country and come up with ways to treat addicts.

In this connection, the ‘National Drug Use Survey Pakistan’ was launched, which would be carried out jointly by the Ministry of Narcotics Control, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the United States Department of State and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

This national survey will be completed in three years (2022-24). Since the previous survey was conducted, there have been changing trends of drug use in the region, especially anecdotal information of rapid increase in the use of synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine, the UNODC said.

The survey will be conducted so that reliable evidence of the extent to which the population is using drugs and suffering from drug use disorders could be gathered. The survey will include a household survey and a high-risk drug use study that will have national coverage including major districts in each province.

UNODC representative says comprehensive data needed to develop rehabilitation programmes

Results of a similar survey, revealed that about 6pc of the population – 9pc of the adult male population and 2.9pc of the adult female population – equivalent to 6.7 million people – had used a substance other than alcohol and tobacco in the preceding year.

Introducing the survey, UNODC Representative in Pakistan Jeremy Milsom thanked the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs for its gracious financial support towards conducting the survey.

Dr Milsom said comprehensive data on drug use patterns and trends is key towards developing effective prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programmes, while results of the survey would serve to promote thoughtful discussions and strengthen national cooperation.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Chief of Mission of US Embassy Andrew Schofer said the launch of the survey was an important milestone in the availability of evidence-based information on drug use in Pakistan, filling an often-overlooked gap.

The information and recommendations in the completed survey report will help save lives by suggesting policy or regulatory changes, Mr Schofer said.

The US deputy head of mission explained that so far, the INL had provided $24 million of support for drug treatment and prevention efforts in Pakistan. The US government, through INL, had invested more than $1 billion over the last 40 years to improve citizen security and enhance the capacity of law enforcement across Pakistan.

Chief of Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section at UNODC in Vienna Giovanna Campello, in her speech, talked about the importance of the drug survey and said he understood the on-ground drug situation.

She said efforts were being made in collaboration with the government in developing a mechanism to ensure quality drug treatment services and also scaling up the capacity of drug treatment professionals to deliver quality drug treatment services that are in line with international standards for drug treatment.

Secretary Narcotics Control, Humaira Ahmed thanked UNODC for its technical support and INL for generously supporting the national drug use survey and drug prevention and treatment interventions in the country.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2022