Okon Bassey in Uyo
Experts and researchers from more than 30 countries are expected to meet in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, for a two-day international conference on drugs, alcohol and society in Africa.
The meeting coming up from September 21 to 22, 2016, at Reiz Hotel, Abuja, is being organised by the Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse (CRISA) in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The Director of CRISA, Professor Isidore S. Obot, in a statement issued in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, yesterday said the conference series which began in Jos in 1991 holds every two years with participants from more than 30 countries.
Obot, who is the Chairman of the 12th biennial international conference on “Drugs, Alcohol and Society in Africa,” said no fewer than 52 papers would be presented on various aspects of drug policy in African countries.
Issue of data availability, legal and law enforcement matters, lack of treatment opportunities, and the outcome of the UN General Assembly meeting in April are some areas for discussion.
The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Public Health and Drug Policy in Africa: Beyond the General Assembly Session on the World Drug Problem.’
The keynote speaker for the conference is Hanna Heikkila of the Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section, Drug Prevention and Health Branch, UNODC, Vienna, Austria.
