The “Transforming Drug Policy: A Focus on Children and Youth” project addresses the harms of punitive drug laws through a human rights-based approach, aligned with international frameworks such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It seeks to catalyze reform and raise the political profile of this issue through consultations – with meaningful child and youth participation – leading to a policy brief in 2026. The brief will provide a roadmap for reform that prioritizes the rights, perspectives, and needs of children and young people.

The consultation was the third in a series of global, regional and local dialogues that will run through 2025, following earlier consultations at the HR25 Harm Reduction International Conference (Bogotá, April) and at the 5ᵗʰ World Congress on Justice with Children (Madrid, June). It was also the first with a regional focus, bringing together government representatives, civil society, academia, people with lived experience, and youth advocates from the Eastern and Southern Africa. This regional focus allowed for more context-specific dialogue and fostered connections among stakeholders facing similar challenges across Eastern and Southern Africa. Commissioner Kgalema Motlanthe, who is also the Chair of the Eastern and Southern Africa Commission on Drugs (ESACD), opened the consultation, framing the subsequent discussions.

Held alongside the inaugural meeting on implementation of the ESACD’s Action Plan (published in June), the consultation provided a platform to connect both agendas. The ESACD meeting focused on operationalizing recommendations from the Action Plan, in particular around improving data collection and quality on drugs and drug use in Africa. Participants engaged in a series of interactive discussions to develop actionable ways to advance the recommendations at country level across the region.