Youth Initiative

DAPC Grants

About the DAPC Grants Programme

Every year UNODC is able to promote drug use prevention and youth empowerment in many countries around the world, thanks to the work and generous donation of the Drug Abuse Prevention Center (DAPC), based in Japan. The youth from DAPC mobilizes communities and raises funds that they donate to UNODC to support youth-centered activities to prevent drug use in low and middle-income countries. This initiative is truly from youth to youth, for youth!

Since 2012 every year UNODC has been awarding small grants to youth organizations working in low and middle-income countries. The aim is to empower youth to take more active roles in supporting the health and wellbeing of their peers, helping them to initiate and scale-up concrete activities, and to connect youth groups working in prevention, health promotion, and youth empowerment via Youth Initiative.

Outreach of DAPC Grants

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With the DAPC grants, grantees have engaged with youth, teachers, parents, and other community stakeholders to implement prevention and awareness-raising activities in schools and communities. Projects are guided by the UNODC/WHO International Standards on Drug Use Prevention, which summarizes currently available scientific evidence, and describes interventions and policies that have been found to result in positive prevention outcomes.

Since 2012, the DAPC grants have benefitted 139 projects in 55 countries, reaching low- and middle-income countries from all regions of the world. The activities range from photographic exhibitions, radio shows, or street theatres to training school teachers on social and emotional skills, parents on good parenting practices, out-of-school youth on income generation, or peer educators on how to scale up prevention efforts in their schools and communities.

Stories of Inspiration

For your dash of inspiration for the day, discover how Japan’s DAPC grants have been supporting organizations in various countries and regions around the world in engaging with or involving youth in implementing substance use prevention projects.

Click here to read more DAPC stories

Teachers and Youth in Bolivia

Our journey in this Youth Action article takes us to South America, to Cochabamba in Bolivia. We introduce you to one of the DAPC grantees, the Institute for Human Development (IDH), a non-profit organization established in 1997 to improve people’s life quality in Bolivia, and one of their areas of work focus on the prevention of substance use.

Reaching Youth in Nigeria

The Freedom Foundation, whose project goal was to provide life skills to youth, increase peer education by youth, and equip caregivers such as parents and teachers with better parenting skills and counseling skills; all with the ultimate goal of delaying the initiation of substances amongst youth in the Oshodi Isolo area.

Family Time fosters Communication

Last Sunday was the International Day of Families (May 15th), a day designated by the United Nations to provide an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase the knowledge of the social, economic, and demographic factors that affect families.

One of the most important jobs in this world

On the first of June, we celebrated parents who protect, care for and love their children. Global Day of Parents stresses the crucial role of parents in the upbringing of children and recognises that the family has the primary responsibility for the education and protection of children.

World Drug Day 2022

We want to thank non-governmental organisations and partners who have worked towards a better future through drug and health promotion activities. We highlighted activities from DAPC grantees of the UNODC Youth Initiative, and how they’ve endeavoured to spread awareness and advocate for drug use prevention in their communities in the spirit of this International day.

Increased Community Cohesion in Maldives

In recent articles, we introduced several projects funded by Japan’s DAPC grants which impacted youth and drug use prevention in different corners of the world. Today, we would like to acknowledge the efforts and achievements of Journey from the Maldives. Journey embarked on a project aiming to empower and equip young people, related stakeholders, and parents with the necessary skill-set for and education on drug use prevention. The multiple components of the project generated comprehensive effects.

Are you interested?

The UNODC DAPC Grants Programme launches a Call for Proposals with the aim of funding not-for-profit organisations working in the area of substance use prevention whose projects are aimed at implementing evidence-based substance use prevention programs for and with youth. Interested applicants from low- and middle-income countries that have relevant prior experience on substance use prevention, health promotion, youth empowerment are eligible for the DAPC grants. Please note that a full description of the eligibility and selection criteria will be available in the Call for Proposals when it is announced.

The Call for Proposals for DAPC 2024 is now closed.

Thanks to the generous support of the Drug Abuse Prevention Center (Japan).

United Nations

Office on Drugs and Crime

Youth Initiative

DAPC Grants

About the DAPC Grants Programme

Outreach of DAPC Grants

Stories of Inspiration

Teachers and Youth in Bolivia

Reaching Youth in Nigeria

Family Time fosters Communication

One of the most important jobs in this world

World Drug Day 2022

Increased Community Cohesion in Maldives

Are you interested?