Africa-Press – Mauritius. There is a need to be constantly prepared to face the daunting and common enemy, the drug scourge, and it is only by combining and coordinating efforts that populations will be in a better position to face the drug issue.
This conclusion was highlighted during the closing ceremony of the three-day Conference on Substance Abuse for Countries of the Western Indian Ocean Region, held from 26 to 28 April 2023, under the auspices of the Government of Mauritius, at the Sir Harilal Vaghjee Memorial Hall, in Port Louis.
In her address, the Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, Mrs Bilkiss Rajahbalee-Cader underscored that this Conference has allowed stakeholders to take stock of the situation in the region and take cognisance of the strengths and weaknesses of existing systems and structures.
She stressed that all countries were encouraged to develop and implement their national drug strategy and action plans with clear monitoring and evaluation framework and come up with their own National Strategy which will ultimately lead to a Regional Drug Observatory and consensus for enhanced regional collaboration.
Mrs Rajahbalee-Cader underlined the importance of setting up a regional neighbourhood watch so that every country is constantly aware of the drug impact in the region. Sharing of information, she observed, is the main weapon to counter the drug scourge in the region.
Furthermore, she remarked that this Conference is only the beginning of many more interactions in order to promote exchanges on the drug issue among countries of the Western Indian Ocean region, and encourage regional and international cooperation to reduce drug trafficking across the region.
It is recalled that this three-day event saw the participation of representatives from nine countries, namely: Comoros; Djibouti; France/Reunion Island; Kenya; Madagascar; the Republic of Mauritius; Seychelles; Tanzania and; South Africa, regrouping coastal and the Island States of the Western Indian Ocean as well as the General Secretariat of the Indian Ocean Commission.
The Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre, the United States of America, the United Nations Resident Representative, as well as various institutions and non-state actors of Mauritius equally participated in the event.
Discussions during the Conference pertained to: how the Western Indian Ocean region is at a crossroad in addressing the drug issue as it is experiencing a rapidly rising consuming population through the introduction of new psychoactive substances; the intricately interconnected drug market in the region, linked mostly by maritime routes; the serious social and health consequences of drugs and substance abuse on individuals, the social equilibrium, the security, and the stability of States and Regions and; the diversification of drug consumption and trafficking across the region.
During the Conference, participants acknowledged that the fight against drugs requires a holistic, integrated, transversal approach, and regional cooperation through four main pillars.
These are: prevention through sensitisation and training; breaking the supply chain by tracking drug traffickers and their networks; exchanges of best practices and development of appropriate treatments to support the health and social aspects of the regions and; strengthening regional and international cooperation, coordination and political commitment and accountability.
Participants also expressed their interest to establish a regional cooperation framework to address illicit drugs and substance abuse in order to synergise efforts, seek a common approach and exchange best practices.
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