This year’s World Drug Day is a call to:

• Raise awareness: Increase understanding of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of evidence-based prevention strategies, emphasizing their impact on mitigating the harms of drug use.
• Advocate for investment: Encourage greater investment in prevention efforts by governments, policymakers, and law enforcement professionals, highlighting the long-term benefits of early intervention and prevention.
• Empower communities: Equip communities with the tools and resources to implement evidence-based prevention initiatives, fostering resilience against drug use and promoting community-led solutions.
• Facilitate dialogue and collaboration: Promote dialogue and collaboration between stakeholders to enhance evidence-based prevention practices and policies, fostering a supportive environment for knowledge sharing and innovation.
• Promote evidence-based policymaking: Advocate for evidence-based policymaking at the national and international levels, ensuring that drug policies are grounded in scientific research and informed by best practices.
• Engage communities: Raise awareness about the importance of community engagement and participation in designing and implementing effective drug prevention programs, empowering communities to take ownership of prevention efforts.
• Empower youth: Provide youth with the knowledge, skills, and resources to become agents of change in their communities, advocating for drug prevention initiatives and amplifying their voices in the conversation.
• Promote international cooperation: Foster international cooperation and collaboration among governments, organizations, and communities to develop and implement evidence-based strategies for combating drug trafficking and organized crime, recognizing the global nature of the drug problem and the need for coordinated action.