15 July 2022
World Drug Report 2022 has recently revealed that young people typically report a higher level of drug use than do adults, and in many countries, drug use levels among young people are higher today than in past generations. In fact, young people aged 15–16 have a global annual prevalence of cannabis use of 5.8 percent, compared with 4.1 percent of the population aged 15–64.
The report also set forth some foundational policy implications including providing educational opportunities, vocational skills training and other prevention, treatment and care services in line with UNODC-WHO International Standards for Drug Use Prevention and UNODC-WHO International Standards for the Treatment of Drug use Disorders for children and youth that are at risk of using drugs or have been exposed to drugs at a very young age.
In line with the pressing need around the world, UNODC has been promoting a worldwide coordinated response to children and young adolescents at risk of using drugs and affected by drug use dependence through its global programme on ‘Preventing Illicit Drug Use and Treating Drug Use Disorders for Children and Adolescents’. This global programme focuses on providing technical assistance to national and local authorities working to address the needs of children and young adolescents within a planned system of integrated and mutually reinforcing activities, rather than a series of fragmented and competing initiatives. Further, this includes the implementation of CHILD (Child Intervention for Living Drug-free) curriculum, a six-course curriculum that was developed to reduce and prevent future drug use in children between the ages of 4-14 years old.
To expand this work, and with the support of U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), in 2022 UNODC launches the CHILD Implementation Grants Programme for the first time to strengthen the capacity of civil society to deliver services for children and young adolescents at risk of using drugs.
The CHILD Implementation Grants Programme seeks to provide funding support to not-for-profit organisations from low- and middle-income countries working in the area of drug use prevention and treatment, care and rehabilitation, having staff trained on the CHILD curriculum and implementing activities for children and young adolescents actively using or at risk of using drugs. This first call for proposal builds on past CHILD capacity-building initiatives in South American, African, and Asian countries and is therefore limited to not-for-profit organizations from these two continents.
Apply now!
Applications close on Monday, 8 August, 23.59 CEST.
Please see below for further information, call for proposals and application forms.
