LAGOS — The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has intensified efforts to strengthen the capacity of Nigeria’s drug-use monitoring network, stressing the need for accurate and timely data to confront the region’s evolving substance-abuse challenges.
The call was made on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, in Lagos, during a capacity-building workshop organised by the Nigerian Network for Epidemiology on Drug Use (NENDU) to improve technical skills in the collection, validation and analysis of data on drug use.
Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs of the ECOWAS Commission, Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, described substance abuse in West Africa as a complex and constantly changing challenge requiring sustained attention and evidence-based responses.
Represented at the workshop by the Head of the Commission’s Drug Prevention and Control Division, Dr Daniel Amankwaah, Sarr said the changing nature of drug-use patterns makes continuous monitoring essential.
She noted that reliable information on emerging trends would enable governments and relevant institutions to design and implement appropriate measures to prevent and control drug abuse.
According to her, strengthening NENDU’s technical capacity would enhance the quality of information available to policymakers, health professionals and other stakeholders working to address substance-use problems.
The workshop therefore provided an avenue for participants to sharpen their expertise in gathering, validating and analysing drug-use data, with the broader objective of improving evidence-based policymaking.
The ECOWAS Commission’s renewed emphasis on data comes amid growing concerns over changing patterns of substance use across West Africa, where authorities continue to confront increasingly complex public-health and social challenges.
Stakeholders at the workshop are expected to use the strengthened skills to improve the reliability of drug-use information, helping authorities better understand emerging trends and respond with targeted interventions.
The initiative underscores the importance of collaboration between regional institutions, national agencies and technical networks in building a stronger evidence base for drug prevention and control across the ECOWAS region.
With better data, stronger analysis and closer regional cooperation, stakeholders hope to stay ahead of emerging drug-use trends and develop more effective responses to the substance-abuse challenge.
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