A three-day regional workshop on the coordination of drug reduction efforts among member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) opened in Accra on Monday with a call on governments in the Sub-region to mobilise available resources towards drug control.

Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Minister of The Interior, who made the call, said more resources were needed to be committed to reduce the demand for drugs as well as stem supply and its attendant problems.

In a speech read for him by his deputy, Mr. Thomas Broni, the Minister said all over the world, cutting down on demand for drugs had become an essential pillar in efforts to combat abuse and illicit trafficking. "We need to remember that so long as there is the demand for narcotic drugs, there will always be people, who will risk everything to supply drugs and satisfy their greed for money," the Minister said.

Over 40 participants are attending the workshop aimed at creating a framework of information sharing and understanding between the Regional Office of the United Nation's Office on Drugs and Crime and its national counterparts involved in the implementation of regional demand reduction projects. The workshop would also review the ECOWAS Regional Plan of Action adopted in 1998 to determine its relevance vis-?-vis current situations.

Mr. Owusu-Agyeman traced the negative impact of drug abuse and illicit trafficking on the socio-politico-economic development of countries, saying these factors underscored the government's resolve not to relent in efforts to find a solution to the problem. "It is a problem affecting the health of nations, destroying societies, causing personal and family tragedies, undermining economies of nations and corrupting democratic institutions," the Minister said.

He urged member countries to forge a common front in pooling resources and sharing information towards the common goal of freeing the Sub-region from the scourge of narcotic drugs. "Let us remember that the drug war cannot be fought and won successfully by individual countries. We have to do this collectively."

The Minister urged the participants to share their experiences and expertise in the fight against drug abuse and come out with simple and effective activities and projects to help those engaged in it to move away to other productive and socially acceptable activities.

Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister for Regional Cooperation and NEPAD, said the psychological pain that drug abuse inflicted on individuals, families and society made it imperative to strengthen enforcement agencies to reduce the menace. He said government alone could not fight the canker and asked civil society, organisations, individuals and churches to play an active role in efforts to deal with the problem.

Dr. Apraku described efforts to adopt similar programmes in the Sub-region as a healthy development, saying the move was helpful for attempts at regional, political and economic integration.

Ms. Christaine d'Almeida, UNODC Representative, said the workshop marked a new chapter in the fight against drugs and pledged the continuous assistance of the organisation to work for the benefit of the people.

Mr. Mamadou Gueye, Director of Human Resource at the ECOWAS Secretariat, said the media, non-governmental organisations and the society in general needed to play a more proactive role to curb the menace.