The UN General Assembly will convene a special session on the world drug problem from 19 – 21 April at UN HQ in New York. The session will consist of plenary meetings and five interactive, multi-stakeholder roundtables. Topics include harm reduction, access to treatment, a public health and rights-based approach to the world drug problem, and reducing stigma and discrimination. All sessions will be webcast. 

 

One of the world’s greatest ‘drug problems’ is that in most of the world, people dying of cancer and other painful illnesses do not have access to basic pain relief medication. Low- and middle-income countries account for 83% of the global population, yet consume only 8% of medical morphine worldwide. After being long neglected, the global crisis of untreated pain has begun to receive greater international attention in recent years. It is essential that this continues at the UNGASS.