This new WHO guidance sets out recommendations to ensure the continuity of opioid agonist maintenance treatment (OAMT) during crises such as disease outbreaks, conflict, and other emergencies. Recognizing OAMT as an essential, life-saving health service, the report emphasizes that treatment must remain uninterrupted and fully integrated within national health systems. It outlines contingency measures to prevent disruptions, including early coordination with affected communities, expanded take-home treatment options, overdose prevention through naloxone distribution, and strengthened psychosocial support to maintain access and continuity of care for people who use drugs.

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This study examines opioid-related deaths in England and Wales from 2011 to 2022 using data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality (NPSUM). Findings indicate that ONS data significantly underestimates opioid-related deaths due to ambiguous cause-of-death reporting, particularly amid rising polydrug use. In 2011, heroin- and morphine-related deaths were underestimated by 29 percent, increasing to 36 percent by 2022. Similar underestimations were observed for other opioids, including methadone and fentanyl. These discrepancies have important implications for resource allocation, policymaking, and public health strategies to address opioid-related mortality.

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This report outlines strategies to expand point-of-care testing for hepatitis C, which remains underdiagnosed and undertreated worldwide. It identifies six key components for effective and scalable programs: operator training, quality assurance, site selection and care models, community and service engagement, connectivity and data integration, and sustainable supply and cost structures. Drawing on discussions from the 2025 INHSU Point-of-Care Testing Forum, the report emphasizes how these elements work together to shorten the time between diagnosis and treatment and improve access for underserved populations, supporting progress toward hepatitis C control.

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This paper examines the relationship between drug policy and sustainable development, exploring its impacts on human rights, governance, health, and the environment. It shows how punitive enforcement has contributed to violence, corruption, incarceration, and health crises, while failing to reduce harm. The paper reviews global trends toward human rights– and evidence-based reforms, including decriminalization and harm reduction, and analyzes the opportunities and risks associated with legal regulation. It emphasizes the need for inclusive approaches that address inequities, protect marginalized communities, and align drug policy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring that no one is left behind.

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A new special collection brings together diverse perspectives on harm reduction across Europe, examining its history, current challenges, and future directions. Contributions from policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and people with living and lived experience of drug use highlight both progress and persistent gaps, particularly in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and Central Asia. The series includes an article, “Europe Must Continue to Lead on Harm Reduction” by Commissioner Michel Kazatchkine and Brendan Kahn (Advocacy Coordinator, GCDP), underscoring the need for political will to expand lifesaving services and adapt to an increasingly complex drug situation.

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The Global Commission on Drug Policy and WHO co-organized the Inter-Ministerial Dialogue “Catalyzing Action on Drug Policy: Promoting Health-Based Responses at National Level through UN System Collaboration” on the margins of the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA). Moderated by Commissioner Michel Kazatchkine, speakers included Helen Clark (GCDP), Justice Tettey (UNODC), Mandeep Dhaliwal (UNDP), Álvaro Ayala Meléndez (Colombia), Francisco Pavão (Portugal), Neil Gray (Scotland), and Jérôme Salomon (WHO). Discussions highlighted alignment with the UN System Common Position and International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy, with participants underscoring reforms, national experiences, and the need for stronger UN system collaboration.

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This report presents an overview of youth confinement in the United States, analyzing the number of young people detained or committed, where they are held, under what conditions, and for what offenses. It highlights that while confinement has declined by more than 70 percent over the past 25 years, serious challenges remain. Black and Indigenous youth are disproportionately represented, and thousands are confined pretrial or for minor offenses. Nearly 80 percent of youth are held in prison-like facilities. The findings underscore persistent disparities and structural issues in the juvenile justice system.

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This report provides updated global and national data on women’s incarceration, showing that over 740,000 women and girls are imprisoned worldwide – a 60% increase since 2000. The United States accounts for nearly 200,000 of these individuals, representing one-quarter of the global total despite housing only 4% of the world’s female population. With an incarceration rate of 112 per 100,000, the U.S. ranks second only to El Salvador. The report examines State-by-State comparisons and highlights how laws criminalizing poverty, reproductive rights, and drug use disproportionately affect women and girls, driving continued growth in incarceration.

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A new WHO guideline provides recommendations for developing balanced national policies on controlled medicines to ensure accessibility, availability, and affordability for medical and scientific purposes while minimizing risks from non-medical use. The guideline addresses medicines essential for pain management, palliative care, mental health, neurological conditions, substance use disorders, and use in humanitarian emergencies. Covering opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, cannabinoids, stimulants, and others, the recommendations highlight the importance of meeting the needs of all age groups, including vulnerable populations, in line with international obligations and the WHO Roadmap for access to medicines.

Read the full report in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

This advocacy paper examines the adoption of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 60/26 on the human rights implications of drug policy. Tabled by Colombia on behalf of a cross-regional core group, the resolution was adopted without a vote in October 2025. The analysis reviews its significance in affirming the Human Rights Council’s role in drug policy debates, strengthening the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and expanding the integration of human rights considerations in drug policy discussions.

Read the full report in French.