The ECOWAS Commission has held a workshop to validate the 2018-2019 West African Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (WENDU) Report. The 2018-2019 WENDU report is the second regional report on illicit drug trafficking and drug use in West Africa.

The report highlights the latest estimates and trends on drug abuse and drug supply in the sub-region. It also considers trafficking in substandard, spurious, falsified and counterfeit medicinal products in West Africa.

To compile this report, the WENDU National Focal Points (NFPs) collected data from each ECOWAS Member State and Mauritania. The NFPs collected data on the quantities of drugs seized, the number of arrests due to drug related offences and the extent of drug use.

The ECOWAS indicated that it will finalize and publish the report after the validation workshop. Meanwhile, the report will serve as reference for programming, policy and advocacy to address the social, heath and economic consequences of substance abuse.

Participants

The virtual workshop had in attendance, the National WENDU Focal Points from ECOWAS Member States and Mauritania. Also, technical partners such as the European Union and the African Union Commission participated in the workshop. Other participants included representatives from the West African Health Organization and directorates of the ECOWAS.

In her opening speech, Dr. Siga Fatima Jagne, the Commissioner, Social Affairs and Gender, ECOWAS Commission welcomed all the delegates to the event. She reiterated that the virtual workshop was a follow-up to the data collection and analysis exercise. This ultimately culminated in the report that delegates were to validate.

Moreover, Dr. Jagne stated that prior to the WENDU Project, access to reliable and comparable data on drugs in West Africa was a huge challenge. However, she indicated that WENDU has made it possible to have evidence-based data for drug use, prevention, and control in the region.

Furthermore, Mr. Sylvester Koomson, Chair of the delegate from Ghana, thanked other Member States and Mauritania for participating in the data collation exercise. He said that this report was a follow up to an earlier report covering 2014-2017. According to him, the new report will provide guidance and input for policy makers in the sub-region. After that, Mr. Koomson wished delegates fruitful deliberations during the period of the validation workshop.

Adoption of the revised Report

The organizers divided the workshop into technical sessions. This gave the National focal points for each Member State and Mauritania the opportunity to made presentations on their country report. These reports were subjected to peer-reviews. Subsequently, the recommendations and observations were transmitted to the Drug Prevention and Control Division of the ECOWAS Commission.

At the end of the workshop, delegates reviewed and adopted the revised WENDU Report. They agreed on the recommendations and observations made towards the final version.

The first WENDU Report (2014 – 2017) found cannabis as the most commonly used illicit drugs in West Africa. Meanwhile, the burden of drug use disorders was highest among people between the ages of 15 and 44 years. The main drugs seized in West Africa from 2014 through 2017, according to the report, were cannabis, cocaine, opioids and amphetamine-type substances.