India News | Thiruvananthapuram to Host Three-day Global Conclave on 'drug-free Childhood'

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 9 (PTI) A three-day international meet on 'Right to Drug-Free Childhood' organised by an NGO raising awareness on substance abuse in partnership with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and World Federation Against Drugs (WFAD), will commence here on November 16.

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Top international experts on the subject will share their insights at the conclave hosted by NGO Fourth Wave Foundation to work out a concrete action plan to root out the menace of substance abuse to create a safe world for children.

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'Children Matter: Right to a Drug-Free Childhood' is the theme of the meet which will take forward the NGO's ongoing 'Project VENDA' to build a substance abuse-free world.

"It is significant to note that this international forum is happening at a time when the country is grappling with a steady spike in drug abuse among children. The conclave brings together top experts from across the world and representatives of global institutions and civil society organisations to shed light on the causes that lead to substance abuse among children and work out policies and protocols that could be adopted by governments," C C Joseph, Director, Fourth Wave Foundation, told a press conference here on Wednesday.

Kerala is one of the states in India that is waging a relentless battle against drug abuse with the government taking the awareness drive down to the grassroots, he said.

Swarup B R, Advisory Board Member, Fourth Wave Foundation; and Rohit Chelat, Catalyst, Fourth Wave Foundation, were also present.

The plenary sessions of the forum will have speakers like Amy Ronshausen, International President, WFAD, USA; civil society members, policymakers, national and state commissions on child rights, government representatives, prevention-treatment-recovery professionals and youth leaders from across the globe.

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Joint Secretary Radhika Chakravarthy, and founder and former CEO of Infosys S D Shibulal, who is also founder of Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiative-India, will address the inaugural session of the meet.

The deliberations will focus on the increased relevance of primary prevention in national drug policies to protect children and incorporating recommendations mooted during a special session of the UN General Assembly.

More than 300 participants from around 60 countries will attend the event, the first such event being organised in the country on this topic.

The sessions at the forum will discuss topics related to educating and empowering youth to advocate for their rights, rehabilitation and social cohesion of children, the role of family and school in working with children, and Project VENDA.

The members of the forum will work towards facilitating practical and regional solutions to protect the rights of children to a drug-free childhood.

As per the World Drug Report, there will be an 11 per cent increase in substance abuse by 2030. The surge will mostly appear in lower-income nations, estimated to encompass 40 per cent of the total increase.

Though Article 33 of the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child (UNCRC) calls for appropriate measures to protect children from the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, it lacks proper implementation, popularity and understanding among the common mass.

In an increasingly challenging global environment, today's children are exposed to severe threats to their rights, a statement said quoting the report.

The studies show children aged between 11-14 are vulnerable to exposure to substance abuse. In India, 253 million children in the age group of 10-19 years are found to be vulnerable to substance use.

According to latest reports, in the last five years, there has been an alarming rise of 125 per cent in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substance cases in Kerala.

Opioid users also increased from two million to 22 million. Heroin has now replaced natural opioids as the most commonly abused variety. Also, there is rampant use of synthetic drugs and cocaine.

World Drug Report 2020 shows that the global trend of substance use among youth is along the same lines as India. According to the report, there are 192 million cannabis users, 27 million amphetamine and prescription stimulant users, 58 million opioid users, 21 million ecstasy users and 19 million cocaine users globally, it added.

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