Between March 9th and 13th, WFAD attended the 69th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna, Austria. The week included a wide range of side events organised by our members and partners, meetings with partners, Member States, and UNODC representatives, as well as observing the plenary session.

Before the CND, we attended the Global Tasforce workshop hosted by Drug Free America Foundation on Sunday, March 8. Experts from different regions shared regional updates and insights into their work. Due to the current flight restrictions, the gathering was smaller than usual, as many of our members were unfortunately unable to travel to Vienna.

Throughout the week, WFAD hosted a total of 12 side events and also participated in several events organised by our members. Thanks to the joint efforts of partners, key themes were consistently highlighted, including the rights of women and children, and the importance of prevention, treatment, recovery, and social reintegration. These discussions emphasised that none of these aspects should operate in isolation, but rather as part of an integrated approach that enables a comprehensive system of care—one that supports and respects all individuals, including women, children, and people with lived experience.

The WFAD Board also took the opportunity to meet in person during the week, considering that most board meetings typically take place online. And of course, the CND would not have been complete without a group photo in which we promoted the slogan “Prevent. Don’t Promote”

We co-sponsored the following 12 side-events:

• Women, Youth, and the Next Generation: Bridging Mental Health, Reproductive Health, and Substance Use Prevention Across the Life Course by Drug Free America Foundation
• Building Resilient Youth and Families for Drug Prevention by Pakistan Youth Organization
• Advancing Collaboration for the Continuum of Care in Drug Demand Reduction by Serbia
• Civil Society Response of Curating Online Safety and Creating Positive Youth Behavioral Health: A Case for Sensible Media Approach Working Alongside Digital Content Creators, Online Community and Social Influencers to Address Risk of Normalization of Content on Substance Use and Crime by Fourth Wave Foundation
• Intersectionality in Action: Strengthening Evidence-Based and Human Rights–Centered Drug Strategies by Dianova International
• People Centered: Strengthening Public Health and Security in the New African Union Strategy and Plan of Action on Drug Control and Crime Prevention by the African Union
• Synthetic Drugs and Youth Protection – Evidence-Based Strategies for Prevention, Resilience, and Sustainable Development by the Jordan Anti-Drugs Society
• Advancing Public-Private Partnerships on Social Integration: Highlights from the FOCTALI Project by the San Patrignano Foundation
• Youth Prevention Influencers (YPI): Peer-to-Peer Prevention Training Led by Umbrella Youth Organizations by the Rotarian Action Group Addiction Prevention
• Youth, Recovery, and Resilience: Addressing Stigma and Strengthening Prevention and Pathways to Care for Adolescents by Proslavi Oporavak (Celebrate Recovery)
• A Common Goal: Advancing Toward a Multi-Approach Drug Strategy by the International Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations for the Prevention of Drug and Substance Abuse
• From Principle to Policy: Advancing Prevention as a Human Right in Global Drug Policy by the Institute for Research and Development “Utrip”