PDF (Lessons learned in drug abuse prevention: a global review)

INTERNATIONAL
Mobilisation of NGOs in Demand Reduction in Eastern
and Southern Africa
REGION:
Eastern and Southern Africa
COUNTRIES: Botswana,
Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar,
Malawi, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Namibia,
Seychelles, Somalia, South
Africa, Swaziland,
Tanzania,Uganda, Zambia,
Zimbabwe
Organisation: UNDCP
TARGET GROUPS:
● NGOs working in the field of
drug abuse prevention
SETTINGS:
● UNDCP East Africa Office
The 4th issue of the newsletter, ‘UNDCP Drug Forum’.
Background: 123
The region is undergoing a massive and prolonged displacement of population from
rural to urban areas, causing a rapid growth in urban slums. Despite a relatively high
population growth rate, the workforce is diminishing because of such prevailing conditions
as poverty, disease, famine and drought. Numbers of street children, commercial
sex workers and other vulnerable groups of the population, among them women,
are increasing. Women in the sub-region tend to have less access to education, health
facilities and financial resources, and tend to be more marginalised than men. Local
cultures stigmatise women who abuse drugs, and so such women usually prefer to
hide the problem than to seek assistance. Some resort to prostitution or become
involved in the drug trade, either in the production process, as street dealers, or,
increasingly, as couriers.
Most of the countries in the region are enduring worsening social and economic conditions.
In the face of endless resource-intensive problems, many Governments still
view drug control as a medium- to low-priority issue. Corruption, internal conflicts and
cross-border disputes are major impediments to nation-building. Drug abuse has
spread rapidly along trafficking routes, and none of the countries can claim to be unaffected.
Drug abuse is generally considered to be on the increase in the region, as in most other
parts of Africa. The absence of reliable and accurate data makes it difficult to convince
politicians and the public of the scale and magnitude of the problem. It is even more
difficult to respond with adequate demand reduction measures.
Whilst primary prevention is addressed both by governments (e.g. through ministries
of education, health, youth and sports) and by NGOs, programmes are usually inadequate
due to the lack of funding and of sufficient trained human resources. Several
countries of the region have established Interministerial Drug Control Committees that
aim to co-ordinate drug control activities at a national level. In addition, countries have
IMPLEMENTING AGENTS:
● NGOs
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Networking and empowering
NGOs working in the field of
drug abuse prevention in
Eastern and Southern Africa
COST: US $677,774 (total
budget)
DURATION: Initially 3 years,
then extended for another
year
Sources: 1 Information used prior to and during the project execution was compiled from various UNDCP studies
on drug abuse. These include, amongst others, UNDCP Technical Series publications, the findings of Rapid
Situation Assessment Studies conducted by UNDCP Nairobi in certain countries of the region, and other
relevant/available literature in the field of drug abuse prevention.
2 www.undcp.org/kenya/country_profile.html
3 www.undcp.org/kenya/demand.html
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