(MONROVIA, December 18, 2025) — The Multisectoral Committee on Drugs and Substance Abuse has unveiled a National Anti-Drug Action Plan (NADAP) 2025–2030, a comprehensive five-year national framework designed to confront the nation’s drugs and substance abuse crisis, which poses a direct threat to public health, national security, and the country’s future.

Delivering the official statement and formally unveiling the Plan, Dr. Louise M. Kpoto, Minister of Health and Chair of the Multisectoral Steering Committee on Drugs and Substance Abuse, described the NADAP as a unified national response to an escalating challenge.

“I am pleased to address you today on the occasion of the official launch of Liberia’s National Anti-Drug Action Plan (2025–2030), a landmark policy instrument developed in response to the growing threat that drugs and substance abuse pose to our public health, social stability, and national development,” Dr. Kpoto said.

She cautioned that the impact of drug abuse is being felt most acutely among young people, contributing to crime, violence, school dropout, unemployment, and mental health challenges. “These realities,” she stressed, “demand a response that is coordinated, sustained, and firmly grounded in public health, human rights, and social development principles.”

Dr. Kpoto announced that the Plan has received the full endorsement of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr., underscoring the highest level of political commitment.

She explained that the NADAP is anchored on three strategic pillars: Demand Reduction, Supply Reduction, and Governance and Coordination.

“On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Liberia, and in my capacity as Minister of Health and Chair of the Multisectoral Steering Committee, I hereby officially launch and declare operational the National Anti-Drug Action Plan (2025–2030),” she declared.

Calling for collective ownership, Dr. Kpoto urged ministries and agencies, local authorities, civil society, development partners, the private sector, and the media to align their programs with the Plan. “Together,” she added, “let us translate this roadmap into concrete action that protects our young people and secures a healthier and more productive future for our nation.”

For his part, Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh, Minister of Justice and Co-Chair of the Multisectoral Committee, praised the work of the Committee and its partners, emphasizing the need for sustained collaboration to combat drug trafficking and abuse.

“One way or another, we are all affected by this menace,” Cllr. Tweh said. “Therefore, every institution must play its role to address this situation.”

He reaffirmed that President Boakai has fully endorsed the Plan and committed the Government to its full implementation.

Presenting the National Anti-Drug Action Plan, Dr. Moses Ziah II, Director of the Mental Health Unit at the Ministry of Health, traced its foundation to President Boakai’s decisive actions since assuming office.

He recalled that in January 2024, the President declared drugs and substance abuse a Public Health Emergency and subsequently constituted the Multisectoral Steering Committee.

Dr. Ziah quoted the President as saying, “The drug epidemic, especially the use of ‘Kush’, in our country is an existential threat eating away at the future of our children and the country.”

He further noted that in August 2025, President Boakai reaffirmed his commitment, calling for a whole-of-society response and warning that “no status, no title, no uniform, and no connection will protect anyone involved in drugs.”

Providing context to the crisis, Dr. Ziah disclosed that an estimated 20 percent of Liberian youth reportedly abuse drugs, citing UNFPA data. With about 75 percent of the population under the age of 35, he warned that Liberia faces heightened vulnerability. He emphasized that substance use disorder is “a chronic brain disease that undermines health, education, peace, security, and national development.”

Dr. Ziah outlined the Plan’s priority areas, including regulation of medical controlled substances, legal and judicial reforms, and strengthened governance and coordination. He explained that the implementation framework establishes four levels of leadership: the Multisectoral Steering Committee, the Technical Working Group, County Anti-Drug Committees, and Community Anti-Drug Action Teams.

On financing, he disclosed that the total indicative budget for the five-year Plan is estimated at US$38.08 million, to be mobilized through government allotments, sin taxes, forfeited assets, development partner contributions, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and public-private partnerships.

“The Plan is not just aspirational,” Dr. Ziah noted. “It comes with a clear monitoring and evaluation framework to ensure accountability, including quarterly and annual reporting, mid-term reviews, and end-term evaluations.”

Earlier, delivering welcome remarks and recognizing guests, Hon. Malayah Tamba Chieyoe emphasized that the fight against drugs requires shared responsibility across all sectors of society. He described substance abuse as “a crisis that cuts across families, communities, and institutions,” urging stakeholders to move beyond rhetoric to decisive action.

In special remarks, Col. Wilson W. Boe, Coordinator of Joint Security and Co-Chair of the Technical Working Group, reaffirmed the Government’s uncompromising stance.

He recalled President Boakai’s January 29, 2024 declaration before the Legislature, quoting him directly: “Given the need for immediate action to make good my pledge to the thousands of families burdened by this crisis, I am hereby declaring drugs and substance abuse as a public health emergency.”

Col. Boe said the President followed that declaration by establishing the Multisectoral Steering Committee and committing to lead by example through drug testing.

He added that the President’s August 7, 2025 Special Statement described drugs as “an attack on our future” and pledged a “non-selective and relentless” fight.

“This launch,” Col. Boe said, “is not just the unveiling of a document. It marks the beginning of strengthened collective action and accountability across all sectors.”

Brief remarks were also delivered by representatives of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ministry of State, and the Ministry of Information.

Representatives of the diplomatic missions, including the U.S., and French, development partners such as the One UN, civil society and faith-based organizations, local government, and treatment providers all pledged support for the Plan’s implementation.

Adding a human face to the policy, Ms. Vicky Dawon, a beneficiary in recovery, delivered a powerful testimony. “I am living proof that recovery is possible when there is support, compassion, and access to treatment,” she said. “This Plan gives hope to people like me who want a second chance at life.”

The Multisectoral Steering Committee on Drugs and Substance Abuse is a high-level national body constituted by the Government of Liberia to coordinate and lead the country’s response to drugs and substance abuse, reflecting a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. This composition ensures coordination across health, justice, security, education, youth, gender, finance, local governance, civil society, and international partners for the effective implementation of the National Anti-Drug Action Plan (2025–2030).

The official ceremony was held Thursday, December 18, 2025, at the Ministry of Health  in Congo Town.