Ghana’s Education Ministry has directed all pre-tertiary schools to introduce a mandatory daily anti-drug awareness message during morning assemblies, effective immediately. The call-and-response recitation — “Don’t start it as a greeting” followed by the response “To live in regret” — will be delivered after the national anthem and before the pledge. The directive forms part of a nationwide Behavioural Change Communication campaign launched with the Interior Ministry and the Narcotics Control Commission, which officials describe as a proactive effort to curb rising substance abuse among school-aged children.

In Algiers, the government used the same international day to present the first-year results of its 2025–2029 national strategy against drugs and psychotropic substances. Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa stated that the approach had achieved a “tangible dynamic shift on the ground,” moving beyond fragmented interventions toward integrated planning and coordination. Authorities disclosed record seizures for the year: 37.2 tonnes of cannabis, over 1.4 tonnes of cocaine, more than two tonnes of heroin, and 43.4 million psychotropic tablets. Boudjemaa stressed that the state’s strength is measured not only by confiscations but by building a resilient legislative and institutional system capable of anticipating and adapting to organised crime.

In Bangladesh, a human chain in Rajbari organised by a local social group drew teachers, journalists, and political representatives who warned of eroding trust in law enforcement and called for a united social movement. Speakers argued that families must take primary responsibility, with one college principal noting that people were snatching accused individuals from police custody, reflecting a crisis of confidence in the justice system. Separately, at an editors’ forum in Accra convened by the advocacy group SEND Ghana, public health experts pressed for mandatory front-of-pack warning labels on processed foods, citing a surge in diet-related diseases among children. The president of the Ghana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics reported cases of 12-year-olds presenting with type 2 diabetes and clinical hypertension, conditions he attributed to high sugar consumption embedded in everyday social practices.

Viewed from regional capitals, the parallel initiatives illustrate divergent but overlapping priorities: West African states are emphasising school-based prevention and consumer information, while North African authorities are showcasing enforcement capacity and legal reform. Ghanaian officials said the school campaign will be reinforced by sustained public education and closer collaboration with parents and community leaders. In Accra, health advocates noted that Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria are already at advanced stages of implementing front-of-pack warning labels, leaving Ghana at risk of lagging behind. The Ghana Education Service has been instructed to begin the daily recitation without delay, and Algeria’s five-year strategy continues its rollout, with the government pledging deeper international cooperation against transborder trafficking networks.