Since 1990, development policy has been giving greater priority to using development measures to achieve drug control. In fulfilment of this development cooperation task, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is lending support to GIZ’s (former GTZ) Development-oriented Drug Policy (DDP) programme.

The DDP programme has an important part to play in the implementation of international drug policy. Particularly since the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drug policy in June 1998 and in view of the follow-up assembly in 2008, the international community is being asked to make a major commitment to international drug policy.

The programme supports national and local drug policy strategies and measures in developing and transition countries. The aim is to mitigate the negative consequences to both individuals and society of drug production, trafficking and consumption to the greatest extent possible. The experience gathered is processed conceptually and helps to fuel the international specialist and political debate on providing solutions to the global drug problem.

In recent years, despite limited resources, successful models for long-term sustainable alternatives to the cultivation of drug crops have been shown to work and effective approaches to drug misuse prevention have been developed. The development-oriented drug policy principles of German Development Cooperation have also had an increasing impact on policies in GIZ partner countries. However, one thing has become clear: the instruments and strategies for development-oriented drug policy – developed by GIZ for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) – can only be effective in partner countries with functioning state structures based on firm political will and the rule of law. Considerable international support will remain to be indispensable.

• Publications
  concerning basic principles
• Publications
  concerning drug cultivation
• Publications
  concerning drug consumption
• Publications
  concerning interfaces