The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Afghanistan signed an agreement to provide essential medicines and medical supplies for drug treatment with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Afghanistan signed an agreement to provide essential medicines and medical supplies for drug treatment with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Through the 2 M USD partnership, UNDP and UNODC will jointly support the provision of essential medicine, equipment, and hygiene kits to 17 drug treatment centers across the country with a 930-bed capacity across the north, west, east, and central highland regions.

“Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer and cultivator of opium, which erodes families and societies from its core. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to safeguarding the Afghans’ health security and treatment when it is most urgent.” said Abdallah Aldardari, Resident Representative of UNDP Afghanistan.

“This is an important milestone for UNODC and UNDP’s strategic collaboration in Afghanistan and beyond,” said Anubha Sood, Representative of UNODC Afghanistan. “After August 2021, most drug treatment and rehabilitation centers in the country are struggling to remain operational. This agreement will rekindle joint UN efforts to tackle one of the most deep-seated issues affecting the men, women, and youth of Afghanistan.”

Since August 2021, UNDP Afghanistan has supported 6 M people with improved access to primary care through anti-malarial, HIV, and TB treatment and care under its flagship programme ABADEI. ABADEI is a UNDP-led socio-economic initiative to combat poverty and create sustainable, dignified livelihoods in Afghanistan, with women enterprises at one of its forefronts. It complements the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) in Afghanistan.

UNODC is operating to identify and address aspects of the drug and crime situation in Afghanistan, through advocacy in the policy arena; providing reliable information on opium poppy cultivation, production and prices; and through implementation in the field, delivery of effective alternative livelihoods, drug demand, and harm reduction support to people affected by drug dependence.