Health Minister Peggy Vidot’s message on the occasion of International Day Against Drug and Illicit Trafficking |26 June 2021

Minister Vidot

‘A world free of drug abuse starts with a family free of drug abuse’

“The world commemorates the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, or World Drug Day, on June 26, every year, to strengthen action and bolster cooperation in achieving the goal of a world free of drug abuse.

“A world free of drug abuse starts with a family free of drug abuse, a neighbourhood free of drug abuse, a school free of drug abuse, a work-place free of drug abuse, a district free of drug abuse and a country free of drug abuse.

“Our National Drug Control master plan remains the consensus blueprint for drug control in Seychelles. It emphasises supply reduction, demand reduction and harm reduction. The Ministry of Health will continue to rally the nation towards its successful implementation. The master plan is consistent with the sustainable development goals which summon nations to strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug use such as opium and heroin. The National Drug Control master plan is human-rights sensitive and human-rights sensible and seeks to truly leave no one behind.

“Seychelles has made significant progress in harm reduction, but if we really want to achieve a drug free Seychelles, we must win the battle at the level of supply and demand reduction. We have evidence that harder drugs are coming into our country in the attempt of immoral drug-traffickers to circumvent our opioid substitution programmes that have achieved a certain degree of success. “Seychelles must gear up to confront this new challenge.

“This year, World Drug Day is observed under the theme ‘Share Fact on Drug, Save life’. The Ministry of Health is making great strides towards the establishment of a National Drug Observatory and aiming to produce a yearly national drug report for Seychelles. That report will continuously provide robust data on supply and demand and the strenuous work going on to stem supply and demand and save lives.

“On this auspicious day, I call on all actors in our society, both public and private, to really take a hard look at what we can do together to break the chain of supply and demand of drugs in our country. We must all play an exceptionally active role in this effort because if we remain passive or elusive, the scourge of drugs will come closer and closer to us and engulf our own homes and families – if it is not there already.

“The Action-Programmes for the Control and Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation (Apdar) of the Ministry of Health wants to work more closely with the schools and community, to introduce programmes that have been tried and tested elsewhere and demonstrated their ability to bring results in prevention. The Ministry of Health requests greater collaboration and cooperation from all parties in order to kick-start or continue these programmes and give them a greater chance to succeed. Drug prevention programmes must be fully institutionalised and firmly rooted in school curricula, school health programmes, adolescent health programmes and youth health programmes. It must be pervasive in the media and everywhere that people live, work and play.

“I call on law enforcement, opinion leaders and influencers, parents, teachers to contribute more significantly to the national effort to stem the tide of illicit drug-use in our country.

“There can be no promise of a brighter tomorrow for anyone of us if the fog and darkness of drug addiction continues to engulf our country. Let’s work together to beat drugs definitively out of our lives.”

Press release from the Ministry of Health