Pakistan launches national drug use survey to form strategy against substance abuse

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s narcotics control ministry on Wednesday launched a national drug use survey in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to document the current situation of drug use in the country. 
The last survey was conducted in 2012-13 which revealed that approximately six percent of the population – or 6.7 million people – had used a substance other than alcohol and tobacco in the preceding year.
Now the study will be carried out again to gather reliable information on the extent to which the Pakistani population is using drugs and facing related disorders. 
“This survey will help … take stock of drug situation in the country and facilitate in chalking out strategies to effectively combat the challenges of drug abuse,” said the country’s narcotics control minister Shazain Bugti while addressing the event. 
He stressed upon the importance of cooperation across borders to counter the growing drug use problem and urged all stakeholders to remain steadfast in their efforts to achieve the goal for a “drug free” nation.
The UNODC representative in Pakistan, Jeremy Milsom, noted that comprehensive data on drug use patterns and trends was key to developing effective prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs. He hoped that the survey findings would inform policies and strengthen national cooperation. 
Addressing the gathering, the deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Islamabad, Andrew J. Schofer, said his country was “proud to partner with the government of Pakistan on drug demand reduction efforts.” 
“To date, INL has provided $24 million US dollars – that’s 522 million Pakistani rupees – of support for drug treatment and prevention efforts in Pakistan,” he added. 
According to the World Drug Report 2022, an estimated 284 million people across the world used drugs in 2020. 
The report estimated that 11.2 million people worldwide injected drugs during the period of the study. Around half of them were living with hepatitis C, 1.4 million were living with HIV, and 1.2 million were living with both.