Youth TOT in Thabuttegama, Sri Lanka

Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka has collaborated with National Dangerous Drugs Control Board to enhance the quality of lives their farmers and reduce the use of substance in their areas since 2016.

In 2025 January, Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka has organized an Youth-base Training and Evidence based Substance Abuse Prevention Program series in Mahaweli System “H” targeting Youths, schools and community organizations.

Evidences show that youth is a powerful force in drug prevention in the world. They have an outstanding understanding and ability to reach out their peers more than any prevention expert. This makes them easy to reach their own youth group members with positive drug prevention messages without stigmatizing. “Sujatha Daruwo” programme aims to train these youth groups as peer educators and drug prevention agents to deliver drug prevention message to community in their respective Mahaweli areas.

National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB) is the pioneer government institution, which discharges its functions with an aim to control (Demand Reduction) the drug menace from Sri Lanka. In 1984, parliament enacted the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board Act No. 11 of 1984 and the board came into operation on 9th of April 1984.

The Prevention Education and Training Division is committed to fulfilling the responsibility of the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board to reduce the prevalence of drug abuse and mitigate the harm caused by drugs in accordance with the statutory law and international conventions of Sri Lanka. In order to find solutions to the prevailing drug problem in the island, programmes with balanced and comprehensive approaches are implemented to reduce the demand for narcotics, focusing on prevention, social integration and sustainable development.