UN anti-drugs chief calls for greater financial help for Afghanistan

31 March – The top United Nations official in the fight against illegal drugs today called on the international community to provide more help to tackle the growing drug problem in Afghanistan.

Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said Afghanistan's drug economy will keep growing until those involved in opium production and trafficking have a financial incentive to do something else.

UNODC estimates that last year's opium production in Afghanistan generated $1 billion for farmers and $1.3 billion for traffickers - equivalent to half the country's income.

Mr. Costa urged participants in the two-day international conference on Afghanistan's reconstruction, which started today in Berlin, to contribute to specific anti-drug measures.

"It is urgent to redress this risk-reward imbalance, making engagement in illicit activities socially and economically unattractive," Mr. Costa said. "Licit economic activities also need to be made more accessible and remunerative."

The UNODC chief also said authorities should distinguish between traffickers and farmers in determining who they seek first for punishment, adding farmers deserve development assistance to discourage them from growing opium poppies.