Vienna, March 2025
The 68th Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) marked a significant new era in the global attitude and investment direction regarding prevention of drug use.
Prevention is now embedded in science, thanks to the International Standards on Drug Use Prevention. Since the introduction of the Prevention Standards in 2013 and ahead of 2025, the paradigm of prevention shifted noticeably twice. The first was the agents of prevention and policy makers gradually articulating their commitment to prevention with science and standards shifting their work to person-centred responses that builds resilience and skills in individuals rather than merely asking them to say “NO!”. A period where also meaningful engagement of youth in the prevention response was core and centre. The second shift was felt as of 2022 with the welcomed adoption of a Commission on Narcotics Drugs (CND) resolution stressing on the importance on investing this science as of “earlier ages of development” leaving no one behind Resolution 65/4.
Parallel to this shifting momentum, new open-sourced tools with documented effectiveness and new initiatives were introduced to the CND and UNODC partners, namely the life and social skills programmes in schools or peer to peer, the family skills including in crisis settings, the Review of the Prevention System and most recently through the launch of the UNODC Children Amplified Prevention Services (CHAMPS) initiative.
In 2025, a new milestone of engagement was set with the adoption of a CND resolution tabled by Chile calling for “Promoting comprehensive, scientific evidence-based and multisectoral national systems of drug use prevention for children and adolescents”. A resolution that garnered widespread sponsorship from numerous Member States. With such a resolution, further to relying on science, further to a person-centred approach, further to focus on earlier ages of development, its call was to break silos in prevention investment and start working in systems in line with the UNODC CHAMPS initiative.
Beyond the aforementioned resolution, prevention was a recurring theme throughout CND68 in 2025. Multiple side events emphasizing the need for coordinated and multi-sectoral prevention responses. This included high level side events chaired by Ms. Ghada Waly, Executive Director, UNODC, alongside ministers, ambassadors, heads of drug control authorities and civil society, which fostered discussions on the increasing need for and importance of evidence-based prevention, especially systems of prevention.
In her speech during the side event on the global implementation of the CHAMPS initiative, Ms. Waly highlighted the need for evidence-based prevention strategies to protect children and emphasized the cruciality of collaborative efforts among national and international stakeholders, including public-private partnerships for the advancement of prevention globally. The high-level side event saw two additional countries join the CHAMPS family, expanding the reach of the first wave, spanning all global regions from East to West. Moreover, negotiations are ongoing with more nations expected to commit to the CHAMPS implementation, reinforcing the momentum toward stronger, more integrated prevention efforts worldwide.
Other notable events advocated for a similar shift in prevention investment. The Netherlands, alongside France, focused in their side event on the importance of advancing and prioritizing high quality, comprehensive and inclusive systems of prevention, in line with the Prevention Standards, which in turn guarantees a healthy and safe environment for child and youth development. In the same context, Slovenia’s side event, co-sponsored by France, emphasized the significance of early prevention in building child resilience among young people in various settings, including under-served and vulnerable communities. In parallel, in an event organised by Proyecto Hombre on behalf of the Oviedo Declaration and together with many co-sponsors, had pannelists underlining the role of civil society coming together with the government in calling for scaling up drug prevention to cover all settings and ages of development (especially children and youth) through collaborative efforts.
Last but not least, the discussions across CND side events also underscored the importance of engaging youth, a key component of the society, not just as beneficiaries but as active contributors in service delivery, considering the effectiveness and sustainability of their role in delivery prevention responses.
The developments in the field of prevention are promising and materializing by the day. Over a decade later, we know what works and what does not work. More to that, we know now more than ever, what works, what works well, what saves money, how to protect our investment and how we can amplify its effect and make it work better.
Prevention that is person-centred and aligned with science not only reduces the use of drugs but addresses many other outcomes sharing a similar perspective, namely violence, crime, mental health, educational performance and more, all building foundation for a more resilient future generation.
Proper investment in Prevention saves money – billions of it! The beauty of all this is that the world is already responding to this call for action.
For more information on the UNODC prevention programming, please visit the website below:
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/prevention/index.html
