The African Union Commission (AUC) convened a Drug Control Technical Experts Meeting in Maputo, Mozambique from 18–20 November 2025, bringing together subject matter experts from across the continent to reflect on progress under the African Union Plan of Action on Drug Control (AUPA) 2019–2025 and to chart the direction of the next strategic cycle. The meeting served as an important moment for review, collective learning, and renewed commitment, taking place against a backdrop of rising substance use–related harms, increasingly complex trafficking networks, and persistent challenges in coordination, capacity, and data systems across many Member States.
ISSUP was represented by ISSUP Chief Executive Joanna Travis-Roberts and A/Prof Goodman Sibeko (ISSUP Scientific Advisor), who joined AU Member States, regional bodies, youth representatives, and technical partners in discussions aimed at strengthening both drug supply reduction (DSR) and drug demand reduction (DDR) across Africa. ISSUP’s participation highlighted the organisation’s long-standing commitment to professionalising the prevention and treatment workforce, improving data systems, and deepening networks of collaboration across the continent.
The meeting opened with a comparative reflection on global and regional drug-policy architectures. Dr Abel Basutu underscored the unique scale and diversity of the AU’s 55 Member States, far larger and more complex than the European Union (EU) or the Organization of American States (OAS). While the EU and OAS operate with binding regional strategies and dedicated drug commissions, the AU’s drug control efforts are embedded within its broader AUPA framework. This structure offers flexibility but presents challenges for implementation, particularly given limited staff capacity at continental and national levels. Experts recommended that the next AU Drug Strategy include clearer priorities, greater emphasis on research and advocacy, and more explicit focus on addressing harms related to substance use disorders.
The AUC shared emerging findings from its evaluation of the AUPA 2019–2025. Although progress has been made, particularly in strengthening partnerships, improving policy coherence, and expanding treatment in some countries, implementation remains uneven. Persistent barriers include constrained human and financial resources, limited treatment and rehabilitation services, fragmented coordination across justice, health, and social sectors, and critically weak data systems. The evaluation strongly reaffirmed the need for harmonised indicators, better information-sharing, and revitalised national drug observatories capable of monitoring trends, guiding interventions, and alerting countries to emerging threats.
A substantial portion of the meeting was dedicated to the draft AU Drug Strategy 2026–2033, which introduces ten strategic pillars spanning public health and treatment, supply reduction and border security, cybercrime, criminal-justice reform, integrated observatories and data systems, youth engagement, regional cooperation, and sustainable financing. Delegates emphasised the importance of anchoring the new strategy in a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, ensuring alignment with Agenda 2063, and addressing the social and economic vulnerabilities that drive both supply and demand. Central to the discussions was the critical need to strengthen data systems through updated needs assessments, operational Early Warning Systems, and improved integration of health, policing, and justice datasets.
ISSUP played an active role in the meeting’s focus on youth development, engaging with AUC and youth representatives to explore how African countries can build a new cadre of young prevention practitioners and community leaders. Discussion examined models from Nigeria, Uganda, and South Africa, and outlined a shared vision for a continental youth training framework supported by ISSUP’s global curricula, updated youth-relevant learning materials, and expanded student and early-career networks. The discussions also recognised the role of traditional leaders and community systems in prevention efforts, highlighting their potential to drive culturally grounded advocacy, prevention messaging, and local mobilisation.
Throughout the meeting, ISSUP reaffirmed our commitment to supporting African Member States by:
- Building capacity through high-quality, evidence-based training for prevention, treatment, addressing harms related to substance use disorders, and recovery;
- Strengthening collaborative networks, including National Chapters, student chapters, youth platforms, traditional leaders, and community partners;
- Supporting data collection and surveillance, including through the promising Web App ASSIST, which allows practitioner-led and self-administered screening, offers child and adolescent versions, assesses injecting-related risks, and generates anonymised risk-profile data to support national monitoring efforts;
- Bridging DSR and DDR conversations, ensuring that justice, security, public health, and community sectors work more effectively together.
The Maputo meeting reaffirmed a collective determination to strengthen Africa’s response to both supply- and demand-side drug challenges. The insights shared and the commitments made signalled strong momentum toward a more coherent, better resourced, and more evidence-informed continental strategy. ISSUP remains a committed partner to the AUC and Member States, ready to contribute through technical expertise, training, data tools, and collaborative platforms that build a safer, healthier, and more resilient continent.
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