United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention, UNODC is mandated to assist Member States in addressing the issues of drugs, crime and terrorism. Working in cooperation with our partners and through our network of field offices, UNODC helps Member States facing urgent problems including smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons, wildlife crime, maritime crime, cybercrime and trafficking in illicit drugs, firearms and cultural property. Further, UNODC seeks to combat corruption, reinforce efforts to prevent and counter terrorism, and enhance alternative development and access to controlled substances for medical purposes, promote evidence-based approaches to drug use prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, as well as HIV and AIDS. The Office has a strong collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to reinforce the need to put public health at the core of all responses to the world drug problem. 

The three pillars of the UNODC work programme are:

  1. Field-based technical cooperation projects to enhance the capacity of Member States to counteract illicit drugs, crime and terrorism
  2. Research and analytical work to increase knowledge and understanding of drugs and crime issues and expand the evidence base for policy and operational decisions
  3. Normative work to assist States in the ratification and implementation of the relevant international treaties, the development of domestic legislation on drugs, crime and terrorism, and the provision of secretariat and substantive services to the treaty-based and governing bodies.

Implementation of Opioid Substitution Therapy in South Africa

Event Date
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Johannesburg
South Africa

You are invited to attend an upcoming webinar meeting aiming to discuss the role of the government agencies in the design and implementation of the HIV interventions among people who use drugs, particularly opioid substitution therapy (OST), in South Africa.

South Africa opioid substitution therapy HIV AIDS

Join us at the COMMISSION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS this week!

News
Dear friends and colleagues, The Commission on Narcotic Drugs is starting very soon! In fact, tomorrow, Monday, 14 March 2022. Once again, all sessions, as well as the side events, are to be held online due to the pandemic. The good thing...

Bridging the Gap between the Pressing Need for Family Skills Programmes in Humanitarian Settings and Implementation

Scientific article
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A supportive environment with nurturing caregivers is essential for the healthy development of children. For children who have been exposed to extreme stress, such as humanitarian contexts, the need for strong, healthy, nurturing caregiver relationships may assume even greater importance. The Strong Families programme, a UNODC family skills intervention, is presented as an example of an intervention that aims to bridge this gap of interventions that meet the need for humanitarian and contexts of extreme stress.
UNODC Strong Families Programme ISSUP

UNODC supports Practitioners in Community-Based Settings

News
The South Sumatra province has been ranked as the second largest province with people who use drugs, with a prevalence of 5% which approximately corresponds to 326,694 people, and methamphetamine is still the most popular drug of choice in...