Cape Town, 31 July 2016 - The African Union Drug Control Programme Management Unit in the Department of Social Affairs is organising a Drug Use Epidemiology network Planning Meeting and Continental Technical Experts Consultation on Drug Demand Reduction from 1-5 August 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa. The Meeting will be held in two segments as follows: 1. 01-02 August 2016 - Drug Use Epidemiology Network Planning Meeting 2. 03-03 August 2016 - Technical Experts Consultation for Drug Demand Reduction National Focal Points The main objective of the Drug Use Epidemiology Network Planning meeting is to plan for the establishment of national drug use epidemiology networks. It is part of a project funded by the United States Government through the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to strengthen research and data collection capacity for drug use prevention and treatment in Africa. The Consultation for Drug Demand Reduction National Focal Points is aimed at reviewing progress by African Union Member States in implementing evidence-based services to address drug use, document good practices and emerging challenges with a view to improving policy formulation and service delivery. The Consultation is also expected to prepare groundwork for final reporting on implementation of the AU Plan of Action on Drug Control (2013-2017) at the Second African Union Specialized Technical Committee Meeting on Health, Population and Drug Control in April 2017. Participants will be composed of technical experts from each Member State representing specifically Ministries and Government Agencies responsible for Drug Demand Reduction (Drug Use Prevention, Treatment and Care) and related initiatives; Regional Economic Communities and Research Institutions. Representatives of International Organizations including the United Nations Office on Drug Control (UNODC), the World Health Organization and the International Institute for Security Studies will also be present. BACKGROUND Africa has not only become a major transit route in the global trade in narcotics, but also a major consuming region, presenting major challenges not only to health care systems, but also to the overall social, economic and security milieu. Drug use constitutes a significant health risk, yet there is an enormous unmet need for drug use prevention and treatment, care and support of drug users. Compounding the lack of treatment facilities, is the fact that the real magnitude of drug use is largely unknown due to insufficient and often unreliable information. For this reason, the Sixth Session of the African Union Conference of Ministers in charge of Drug Control (CAMDC6), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 6-10 October 2014, recognized that lack of baseline data and information on drug use hindered programme development and reporting. The meeting strongly recommended development of regional and national drug use surveillance networks. Under its project “Strengthening Research and Data Collection Capacity for Drug Use Prevention and Treatment in Africa”, the African Union Commission seeks to increase evidence-based services for drug use problems to improve policy formulation and service delivery in African Union Member States. Journalists are invited to cover the Meeting on Monday 1st August 2016 and Wednesday 3rd August 2016, in Cape Town, South Africa. Attached is the draft agenda of the meeting FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Dr OIawale Maiyegun |Director of Social Affairs |Department of Social Affairs |African Union Commission |Tel: +251- 11-518-2217|Fax:+251-115517844|Email: OngoloJM@africa-union.org; StrijdomJ@africa-union.org; TigistZ@africa-union.org Ms Jane Marie Ong’olo | Department of Social Affairs | African Union Commission | Email: OngoloJM@africa-union.org Mr Abel Basutu | Department of Social Affairs | African Union Commission | Email: BasutuA@africa-union.org Media Contact: Mrs. Esther Azaa Tankou | Ag. Director | Information and Communication Directorate | African Union Commission | Tel: (251) 11 551 77 00 | Fax: (251) 11 551 78 44 | E-mail: YambouE@africa-union.org | Web: www.au.int|Addis Ababa | Ethiopia For further information: Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia Follow us Face book: https://www.facebook.com/AfricanUnionCommission Twitter: https://twitter.com/_AfricanUnion YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/AUCommission Learn more at: http://www.au.int