By: Hannah Dadzie
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has called for urgent, coordinated action to confront what he described as a rapidly evolving drug economy that is devastating communities and endangering national stability.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of a two-day Regional High-Level Dialogue on Drug Markets in West Africa in Accra, Mr. Ablakwa warned that West Africa has become both a transit point and a growing consumer market, with synthetic substances such as “kush” and the abuse of codeine-based pharmaceuticals increasingly harming the region’s youth.
He reiterated Ghana’s readiness to work with partners to build a safer, healthier and more secure West Africa, free from the destabilizing effects of illicit drug markets.
“These developments present new dimensions of criminality, addiction and social harm,” he said.
The Foreign Affairs Minister outlined key priorities agreed during the dialogue, including enhanced intelligence sharing, regional enforcement cooperation, improved forensic capacity, strengthened anti-money laundering measures, and expanded prevention and rehabilitation programmes.
He emphasized that the Accra Call to Action, adopted on November 28, 2025, commits states to evidence-based, rights-centered responses and broader collaboration through ECOWAS, the African Union and the United Nations.
Mr Ablakwa praised the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for their partnership in convening the meeting.
Minister for the Interior, Munkata Mohammed Mubarak, said the changing drug landscape, marked by synthetic drugs appearing in new markets and increasingly sophisticated trafficking methods, poses a direct risk to public safety, governance and regional security.
“Synthetic drugs are appearing where they once never existed, and criminal networks now leverage digital platforms and complex financial systems,” Mr Mubarak said.
The Interior Minister urged West African countries to organize a collective and pragmatic response, anchored in intelligence-led policing, protection of vulnerable individuals, and stronger cross-border cooperation.
Netherlands’ Minister of Justice and Security, H.E. Foort van Oosten, commended Ghana’s hospitality and stressed that the challenge affects every country and requires enhanced cross-border international cooperation. He said the conference had strengthened networks and created opportunities for new forms of collaboration on tackling organized drug crime.
Representing UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly, Christoph Capelle warned that synthetic drug markets in West Africa are expanding at an alarming rate, eroding governance and placing immense strain on health systems. He urged states to integrate science, data and human rights principles into their national and regional strategies.
“No country alone can tackle this threat,” he said, reaffirming UNODC’s support for early warning systems, forensic capacity-building, financial crime investigations and expanded treatment services.
The two day conference brought together ministers, regional experts, law enforcement agencies, civil society and international organizations to map the future of drug markets under the theme: “Synthetics, Cocaine, Criminal Money and Strategic Responses.”
It ended with ministers and international partners adopting the Accra Call to Action, a renewed commitment to strengthen regional responses to the growing threat of synthetic drugs, cocaine trafficking and illicit financial flows across the sub-region.
