Every August 31, International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) brings a global community together to take action on overdose. This year’s theme is: “One big family, driven by hope.”
This International Overdose Awareness Day let’s imagine a new meaning of what family can be. A family driven by hope, love and action. We are one big family – not just because we share in the pain of loss, but because we share in the power to change what comes next.
Drug overdose is an international crisis. Over the last 20 years drug overdose deaths have increased significantly in many parts of the world, predominantly driven by the effects of opioids, often in combination with other drugs including benzodiazepines, stimulants and alcohol. The proliferation of dangerous novel substances has heightened the public health risk faced by countries around the globe.
In 2022, an estimated 292 million people – 5.6 per cent of the population aged 15-64 – had used a drug in the past 12 months, a 20 per cent increase from 2012. While cannabis remains the most used drug worldwide, opioids account for over two-thirds (69 per cent) of drug overdose deaths. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the estimated number of people using opioids globally has doubled from 26-36 million people in 2010 to 61.3 million in 2020.
The opioid overdose epidemic takes different forms in different areas of the world. The most well publicized crisis is driven by the dominance of the synthetic opioid fentanyl in the opioid supply in the United States and Canada. In North Africa, West Africa, the Near and Middle East and South-West Asia, opioid harms are driven by use of the synthetic opioid tramadol.
Spread the message and take action today.
#OneBigFamily #DrivenByHope #IOAD2025 #EndOverdose
