In 2021, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) approved resolution 64/3 on “Promoting scientific evidence-based, quality, affordable and comprehensive drug prevention, treatment, sustained recovery and related support services”. This resolution calls upon the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with Member States and other relevant stakeholders, to prepare a comprehensive report on the quality of drug prevention, treatment, sustained recovery and related support services, as well as other health-related measures, in line with the International Standards on Drug Use Prevention and the International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Health Organization, in order to ensure the continuous improvement of such services and with the aim of understanding the possible linkages between drug use and crime, health and socioeconomic factors.

This report aims to present an analysis that is indicative of the quality of drug use disorder treatment, sustained recovery and related support services, as well as other health-related measures, under the analytical framework of the International Standards on Drug Use Prevention and the International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders (UNODC and WHO, 2020). This analysis was carried out with data routinely collected in 2020 and 2021 with the UNODC Annual Report Questionnaire (ARQ). ARQ modules of specific relevance for the treatment of drug use disorders were selected for the analysis presented here. Having a better understanding of not only the accessibility of drug use disorder treatment, as reported in UNODC’s World Drug Report regularly, but also a global understanding of the quality of available services is essential. In this regard, the exercise undertaken for this report was an attempt to see the extent to which ARQ data received from Member States can be used to gain an overview of the quality of drug use disorder treatment and care services in different regions. Based on this initial in-depth analysis, it seems that ARQ data only allow for a limited understanding of the quality of drug use disorder treatment around the world. The availability of different types of drug treatment services and different treatment interventions could be described.

The data analysed in this report shows that some of the main broad categories of drug treatment (i.e., psychosocial and behavioural interventions and pharmacological treatment) seem to be available in most countries, although coverage could be limited, and gaps in provision of services still prevail. The analysis also highlighted potential regional differences. Beyond this, the information to describe and draw conclusions for other domains of treatment quality in line with the International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders is more  limited. Nevertheless, and despite the limitations of this study, the data presented in this report provides an important insight into the quality of drug treatment services worldwide and helps to identify areas for developing this work further, with a view to continuously support the improvement of the quality of treatment and care offered to people living with drug use disorders across the globe.