WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, addressed the UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem calling for Member States to adopt a public health approach to the issue.
“Drug policies that focus almost exclusively on the use of the criminal justice system need to be broadened. They need to be broadened by embracing a public health approach”, said Dr Chan. She also called for Member States to ensure the availability of treatment and to make controlled substances available for medical and scientific purposes. Stating that, “WHO estimates that 80% of the world’s population lives in countries with zero or very little access to controlled medicines for relieving moderate to severe pain.”
Although the adopted document falls short of the public health approach, it calls for "appropriate medication-assisted therapy programs, injecting equipment programs as well as antiretroviral therapy and other relevant interventions." Several countries signaled that investing in health care and providing addiction treatment, rather than using the prohibition and criminalization approach, is the best way forward.
Read Dr Chan’s address to the UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem
Watch the opening of the UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem