World Health Organization

Publications23 September 2025

Coca leaf - Critical review report

The WHO ECDD reviews coca leaf’s chemistry, pharmacology, and uses, noting potential therapeutic effects, low toxicity, and weak evidence of dependence potential.

News5 September 2025

Urgent call for continued WHO leadership on harm reduction for people who use drugs – Open letter to the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Civil society urges WHO to sustain leadership on harm reduction, resist funding cuts, and ensure meaningful community involvement.

Events

48th meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD)

Geneva, Switzerland

20 October 2025 - 29 October 2025

The WHO's ECDD meeting will assess the critical reviews of a handful of substances, including the coca leaf, guiding future international scheduling decisions, with major implications for Indigenous rights.

Blog7 August 2025

A historic opportunity: Why the global liberation of the coca leaf matters on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, IDPC's Ann Fordham highlights how the international drug control regime harms Indigenous communities, and how the WHO’s coca leaf review offers a chance to right a longstanding injustice.

Publications18 July 2025

Sustaining priority services for HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections in a changing funding landscape

The WHO outlines how to keep HIV, hepatitis, and STI programs alive amid shrinking budgets.

News3 July 2025

The UN coca leaf review and indigenous peoples’ rights: can the WHO meet the moment?

The WHO’s long-overdue review of the coca leaf is a historic test of whether global drug policy can finally confront its colonial roots and uphold Indigenous rights.

Publications17 June 2025

WHO guideline on balanced national controlled medicines policies to ensure medical access and safety: rapid communication

Published 14 May 2025, WHO’s new guidance calls for bold, balanced drug policies that ensure fair access to controlled medicines. It updates 2011 rules with sharper focus on equity, harm reduction, pricing, regulation, and education - anchored in health rights and transparency.

News12 March 2025

Protecting key populations from abrupt disruptions to essential HIV services

Faced with devastating funding cuts, countries and health ministries must now focus on long-term, community-centred solutions to maintain service delivery.

News13 October 2024

Indigenous rights, knowledge and expertise should be centred in coca leaf review - IDPC statement to the 47th WHO ECDD

IDPC calls on WHO's Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) to rectify the historical error of the coca leaf scheduling, affirming Indigenous rights, and ensuring their involvement throughout the review process.

Events

47th meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD)

Online

14 October 2024 - 18 October 2024

The meeting will feature an informal update on the: ECDD review of coca leaf.

News23 October 2023

Coca chronicles: Monitoring the UN coca review - Issue #1: Bolivia challenges UN coca leaf ban

TNI traces the history and current state of Bolivia's efforts to end the persecution of the coca leaf, as enshrined in global drug control treaties.

News9 June 2023

WHO launches a single-source repository on drug dependence information

WHO improves its information-sharing process by introducing a new single-source repository, representing the only online, freely accessible collection of information and reports on new psychoactive substances and medicines.

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