On 04 June 2020, UNODC - PTRS with the support of ISSUP and in coordination with the Interministerial Committee on Drug Fighting (CILAD) and the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene of Côte d'Ivoire, successfully supported an experiment exchange webinar on continuity of treatment and care services for people with drug-related disorders under COVID-19.

The purpose of this webinar is to prepare centres, services and community organization working with people who use drugs and drug use disorders to ensure continuity of treatment services in the context of COVID-19 and an exchange of experiences...

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for Eastern Africa (ROEA) supports Kenyan counties in COVID-19 prevention efforts for key and most vulnerable populations. In the spirit of leaving no one behind, acknowledging the increased infection risks of people who use and inject drugs, including those in prison settings, an in an effort to be COVID-19 responsive, UNODC focused its technical and financial support to expand the range existing and new services offered by UNODC to these populations. 

UNODC provided prevention equipment and commodities to ensure that both...

Webinar on good mental health care practices in the context of COVID-19.

In 2018, Mombasa planned to set up a methadone programme for heroin injecting drug users living in prisons. As a follow up, UNODC worked together with the County of Mombasa and the Kenya Prison Service in 2019, to support and expand Medically Assisted Therapy (MAT) service provision to the prison population. 

Understanding that people in prison settings who use MAT services in the public-dedicated clinic could be unnecessarily put at risk of infection, and in the context of the COVID-19 mitigation and prevention measures implemented country-wise, UNODC collaborated with the Kenya Prison...

As part of efforts to professionalize the treatment and care of drug use disorders and the dissemination of effective evidence-based interventions, 18 out of 23 treatment professionals successfully passed the accreditation examination (78% passing rate) of the Universal Treatment Curriculum (UTC) ICAP 1 and were presented with a certificate at the National Police Academy in Abidjan, on 12th March 2020. The official certificate ceremony was supported by the UNODC Mentor of Côte d ‘Ivoire. The opening of the second cycle of UTC trainings to cover modules UTC 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 was also...

Based on the 2019 Drug Use Survey in Nigeria, UNODC estimates that there are more than three million Nigerians living with some of a drug use disorder. Government imposed lockdowns, implemented across most Nigerian States, weigh particularly heavy on people with drug use disorders. While access to drugs has become more difficult, the same challenges apply to accessing treatment and counselling services. The self-imposed isolation can indeed be burdensome for those suffering from drug use disorders as well as their families.

In order to provide immediate and practical relief, UNODC Nigeria...