Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), has called for immediate global action to address the escalating crisis of synthetic opioid and psychoactive drug use.
Speaking at the COP29 UN Climate Conference in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, Ghebreyesus shared a clip via his X handle, emphasizing the critical public health toll of this crisis.
He warned, “No country is immune,” urging world leaders to prioritize the public health impacts of non-medical drug use, both legal and illegal.
He highlighted that drug use disorders are wreaking havoc on public health systems globally. “We are facing a mounting crisis,” he noted, revealing that approximately 64 million people are affected by drug use disorders, with synthetic opioids and psychoactive drugs at the forefront.
This epidemic is responsible for an estimated 600,000 deaths each year.
He stressed the necessity of addressing public health impacts across all drug types, adding, “We cannot…