Cape Town, 1st August 2016 - Experts on drug use epidemiology on the one hand, and resource persons on technical consultation on drug demand reduction on the other hand are meeting from 1-5 August 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa to brainstorm and plan for the establishment of national drug use epidemiology networks and on ways to review the progress made 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.

Organised by the African Union (AU) Drug Control Programme Management Unit in the Department of Social Affairs of the AU Commission (AUC), 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 to be held in April 2017. Both meetings will focus on outcome number two of the AU Plan of Action on Drug Control and Crime Prevention which underscores the “Evidence – based services scaled up to address the health and social impact of drug use in Member States. The goal of this AU Plan of Action is to “improve the health, security and socio-economic wellbeing of the people in Africa by reducing drug use, illicit trafficking and other associated crimes”.
Speaking at the opening of the Drug Use Epidemiology Network Planning Meeting on Monday 1st August 2016, Hon. Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, Deputy Minister of Social Development, Republic of South Africa and Chairperson of the First Meeting of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Health Population and Drug Control, urged the participants to carefully reflect on the root causes and the challenges of drug use in Africa so that they can come up with an African solution to address the problem in the continent. She commended the countries that have made remarkable progress of drug control in Africa and encouraged other countries to follow the good example so as to give hope to the continent that its young population can be counted upon as an advantage or asset for the continental vision of Agenda 2063.

Hon. Bogopagne-Zulu emphasised on the need to encourage medical students to specialise in the area of epidemiology as well as the Experts in this field to upscale their knowledge so as to achieve best results with the view to combat drug use problems in Africa. She further highlighted the theme of the year 2016: “Year of Human Rights with a particular focus on the Rights of Women” as an important point to be considered during the discussion of the experts saying that the outcome of this meeting will be useful in preparing for the 2017 theme on harnessing the demographic dividend in Africa.

Speaking earlier, Prof. Charles Parry, Director, Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs of the Research Unit at the South African Medical Research Council welcomed the participants in Cape Town, the” oldest city” of South Africa, also known as “Cape of Storms” named by Bartholomew Diaz in 1486, “Cape of Good Hope” named by King John II of Portugal in the same period, “Tarven of the Seas, as the town has been a stop over port for passing ships for centuries, “Fairest Cape, named by Sir Francis Drake on his round-the-world voyage in the 16th century, “Hui Gaeb”, which is Khoishan for where the clouds gather, and finally “ikapa elihlumayo”, meaning the growing Cape.
Mr. Parry, further hoped that the meeting will provide a platform for the Experts in epidemiology to reflect on the foundation for important work that is of value to drug control efforts in the continent.

Dr Johnny Strijdom, Head of Division, Social Welfare and Vulnerable Groups, AU Commission, on behalf of the Commissioner of Social Affairs of the AUC, Dr. Sidiki Kaloko, thanked the Government of South Africa for accepting to host this important meeting which he said will go a long way to provide strategic formulas and information to enhance the AU’s efforts to respond to the growing needs to curb drug use in the continent.

Mr. Bill McGlynn, Senior Advisor, US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), reiterated the commitment of the US Government to assist the AU in building the needed capacity through trainings and provide exchanges between scientific workers in the area of epidemiology as well as collaborate in gathering the data to help address the issue of drug in the Africa.

The sessions were moderated by Ms, Jane Marie Ong’olo, from the AUC. Presentations were made during the meeting by Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya and South Africa with contributions from all the participants.

Meanwhile, the Technical Experts Consultation for Drug Demand Reduction National Focal Points will hold on 03-05 August 2016. 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.

Worth noting that, the epidemiological project seeks to increase evidence based services for drug use problems in African Union Member States through the establishment of epidemiological networks and observatories to provide much needed evidence for policy formulation and service delivery.

The Project will carry out three main overlapping activities, namely, the development of epidemiological networks, annual technical drug demand reduction continental consultative meetings, and enhancing capacity of the AU to be able to implement the epidemiological project.

Whereas the Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) meeting is continental, the epi component targets 10 countries carefully selected on the basis of their expressed need, responsiveness, and commitment (political will and resources).

Participants are 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.

Meanwhile, the AUC will continue to identify, update and build capacity of national Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) focal points by provision trainings to help the participating countries develop simple, affordable and sustainable system that will capture all aspects of drug use. The AUC will work with the countries to identify focal institution/focal person, and other relevant institutions that can work together to form a network.

Journalists are invited to cover the opening of the Technical Experts Consultation for Drug Demand Reduction National Focal Points on Wednesday 3rd August 2016, at the Southern Sun Newlands hotel in Cape Town, South Africa.

For further information please contact:

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
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