The Ministry of Narcotics Control and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will launch the National Drug Use Survey Pakistan 2022-23 today.
The US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) will provide monetary assistance for the project.
Nawabzada Shazain Bugti, Federal Minister for Narcotics Control, will be the chief guest of the launching ceremony. Federal Secretary, Humaira Ahmed, will co-chair the event, while their counterparts from the UN, members of the international community, senior government officials, representatives of private-sector associations, development partners, academia, ambassadors, diplomats, and colleagues from UN agencies, will be in attendance.
The UNODC conducted a similar survey in Pakistan in 2012 and 2013 as well, which was conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Narcotics Control and other national stakeholders to estimate the extent and patterns of drug use in the country.
The overall findings showed that roughly 6% of the population – 9.0% of the adult male population and 2.9% of the adult female population – or 6.7 million individuals – used a substance apart from tobacco or alcohol in the year leading up to the survey.
