Dear newsletter subscriber,
More and more people around the world are taking drugs, and more and more people are dying from them – currently almost 500,000 a year. In the fight against illegal substances, influential countries like the USA put their heavy-handed drug policies on display. But that fight cannot be won with security measures alone. The cartels adapt, establish new routes and use politically unstable regions to expand their influence. For example, the internal conflict in Myanmar, the world’s largest producer of illegal opium, has benefited local drug production.
At the same time, it’s clear that anyone who destroys coca plantations in Colombia, Peru or Bolivia without a thought for the local population is simply kicking the problem down the road. The plantations will pop up somewhere else, while the former producers will be left struggling to figure out how they should feed their families now.
Consequently, development policy approaches should receive more attention in the fight against drugs. It is crucial, for example, to offer legal sources of income to people who produce drugs. A similarly holistic approach can be taken to people who consume drugs. They often do so out of despair and a lack of prospects. Development policy measures aimed at fighting poverty or reducing youth unemployment can therefore also serve as part of far-sighted policies against drugs.
At the same time, people with substance use disorders should be seen first and foremost as people who deserve appropriate medical and psychological care. All too often, however, they receive no care at all: even in wealthy Europe, less than a fourth of them are in treatment. In Africa, that number is well below five percent.
Cooperating internationally to fight cartels, identifying better opportunities for everyone involved in the drug business and providing appropriate help to people with substance use disorders might attract less attention in the short term than blowing up alleged drug-smuggling boats, as the US military does. But these approaches are certainly more sustainable.
Please feel free to share your opinions, criticisms and suggestions by emailing us at euz.editor@dandc.eu. |
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Kind regards,
Jörg Döbereiner
managing editor of D+C |
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Our latest Digital Monthly:
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| Drugs, despair, dependency |
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© picture alliance / ZUMAPRESS.com / Hafiz Ahmed
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From gurdwaras to churches: Religion tackles India’s drug crisis
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Mexico under the influence of drugs
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These days, Mexico is associated just as much with drug cartels as it is with mariachi bands and Mayan ruins. Drugs are produced, exported and trafficked here – but they are also consumed on an alarming scale. It is primarily civil society organisations that advocate for people struggling with addiction. To this day, the country is still waiting for sustained political action in this sector.
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© picture alliance / AP Photo / Ben Curtis
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Why alcohol is a threat to public health in Nigeria
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armed conflicts worldwide claim one civilian life on average. This is according to the Human Rights Count 2026, which documents a total of 37,163 civilian deaths for 2025. The figure fell for the first time after three consecutive years of increases. In 2024, it had reached a peak of 48,011, the highest since the 2030 Agenda was adopted in 2015.
Around 65 % of civilian deaths in 2025 occurred in West Asia and North Africa, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa with 24 %. Sharp increases were recorded in particular in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In conflicts where the causes of death could be examined, 40 % of civilians were killed by heavy weapons and explosive munitions, while 20 % were killed by small arms and light weapons.
In 2025, one in five civilian deaths was a child. Almost 70 % of the children killed were registered in Gaza. One in four civilian deaths was a woman – six in ten of these cases also occurred in Gaza.
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Lebanon has become the first country in the Middle East to abolish the death penalty. After no executions had been carried out in the country for more than 20 years, the Lebanese Parliament passed a law in August providing for death sentences to be replaced by life imprisonment and hard labour.
Amnesty International regards the abolition as a victory for human rights in the country and highlights the role played by Lebanese and international civil society organisations in bringing it about. Lebanon’s decision forms part of a global trend towards the abolition of the death penalty. At the same time, the number of executions in countries that continue to retain the death penalty rose by 78 % in 2025 compared with the previous year.
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| What has also caught our interest |
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The Global South is increasingly taking control of financial architecture
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While debates over reforms to major financial institutions have stalled, many countries have stopped waiting. Rebecca L. Root reports on Devex that governments in the Global South are growing increasingly tired of hoping for a reform of the international financial system that meets their needs and are taking action.
One example is the “Lifeline Fund” launched by the V20, a group of 77 countries particularly vulnerable to climate change. At their meeting in Bangkok during the annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, Barbados, Bhutan, The Gambia, Ghana, Guyana and Papua New Guinea launched the fund. Central banks are setting aside 0.2 % of their foreign exchange reserves for this purpose, with a target of $ 500 million in initial capital. The catalyst was Hurricane Melissa a year ago: IMF aid for Jamaica arrived eleven weeks after the storm and covered just $ 0.04 for every dollar of damage. The new fund is intended to provide immediate relief in an emergency.
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| According to an analysis by the organisation Insecurity Insight, more than 21,400 cases of “food-related violence” have been documented in 15 countries since 2018. This refers to attacks on markets, fields, water infrastructure and distribution systems. A total of 1,261 attacks targeted markets where families do their daily shopping. Particularly tragic: Between October 2023 and the end of 2025, more than 10,300 people were killed or injured while trying to reach aid. UN Resolution 2417 of 2018 unequivocally condemns the deliberate starvation of civilians. This Guardian article makes it clear that the problem is not a lack of rules, but rather the inhumane deeds of actors who ignore them. |
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Africa Check hosted the Africa Facts Summit 2026 in Nairobi at the end of last month. Journalists from across the continent and beyond discussed the information landscape, which is increasingly characterised by mistrust and misinformation. Our editor Katharina Otieno attended as well and also caught up with Alphonce Shiundu, a long-term D+C contributor and editor at Africa Check.
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Some takeaways from the discussions that stayed with us:
- Information spreads where people are: In Goma, in the eastern part of the DRC, news is mainly shared through WhatsApp groups or at markets, rather than through traditional media. That is why on-the-ground work is of crucial importance, especially during the current Ebola crisis.
- Timing is everything: In the conflict-ridden Sahel region, people rely on social media for information. In a crisis, the right information at the right time can save lives.
- Fact-checkers are stronger together: Despite severe repression in the Arab world, fact-checkers there are sharing resources and have developed a chatbot that verifies claims and helps track down their sources.
- Information manipulation is a global problem: In West Africa, some networks linked to Russia are taking over established channels with wide reach.
- Protecting local media is crucial: Due to the digital divide, many people on the continent still rely exclusively on radio and other traditional, community-based media.
- Questioning the systems: We must question the systems and structures behind false claims and disinformation, not just the facts themselves.
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The UNESCO Internship Programme offers hands-on experience in different areas such as education, science and culture, enabling students to become familiar with the organisation. The programme is aimed at international students who hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree that is no more than 12 months old.
Deadline: 31 December
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Publisher information: ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL gGmbH Service für Entwicklungsinitiativen
Publisher: Fazit Communication GmbH, Pariser Straße 1, D-60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Telephone: +49 (0)69 7591-3110 | Email: euz.editor@dandc.eu
Webseite: www.fazit.de | Managing Directors: Jonas Grashey, Hannes Ludwig |
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