Surveillance data reported to WHO/Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) shows that between 28 June and 11 July 2021 the Delta variant was dominant in the majority (19 countries) of the 28 countries who reported sufficiently complete genetic sequencing information. Of these 19 countries, the median proportion of all nationally sequenced virus isolates detected that were Delta was 68.3%, overtaking that for the previously dominant Alpha variant (22.3%) across the region. Based on current trends the Delta variant will be the globally dominant strain over the coming months and has already been identified in almost all European countries. It will continue to spread, displacing the circulation of other variants unless a new more competitive virus emerges. Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO/Europe’s Regional Director said, “We are far from out of the woods in terms of the pandemic ending and sadly in many countries in our region we’re seeing a significant rise in cases associated with the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant. Despite tremendous efforts by Member States to vaccinate people across the region, millions more remain unvaccinated and therefore at risk of ending up in hospital.  “The good news is that the data clearly shows that receiving a full vaccination series significantly reduces the risk of severe disease and death. When called to do so, people should get vaccinated.” Dr Andrea Ammon, ECDC Director said, “We need to remain vigilant and continue to use common sense to prevent the spread of the virus. This means getting a full course of vaccination as soon as the opportunity arises and maintaining physical distancing, washing hands, avoiding crowded spaces, and wearing a mask when necessary. These are measures that we know work to protect ourselves and others. “We should think of these as ‘anti-lock down measures’ because they can help prevent the spread of disease without having to shut down large parts of society.” WHO and ECDC urge priority groups, such as older people, people with chronic diseases and healthcare workers to receive a complete COVID-19 vaccine course to protect themselves, and the vulnerable people they come in contact with, from severe disease.  In addition, fast roll out of vaccination to all groups that are eligible for vaccination is strongly recommended. Where the Delta variant of concern is spreading, intensive implementation of current public health measures, including increased access to testing, will be required to control COVID-19 transmission, particularly while vaccination progress is still not sufficiently high in many countries.  Confirmed cases of COVID-19 are rising across Europe with new COVID-19 cases rising each week for the past four weeks. Notification rates have increased across all age groups, but most rapidly among 15 to 24-year-olds where a 5-fold increase in reported cases has been observed over the past month. Dr Kluge has a clear message for those countries in the Europe region easing public health and social measures. “WHO recommends that countries increase access to free of charge testing, expand sequencing, incentivize quarantine for contacts and isolation for confirmed cases, strengthen contact tracing to break chains of transmission and ensure those most at risk among our populations are vaccinated.” To help reduce the risk of being infected with the virus this summer, follow WHO Europe’s Summer Sense practical measures: Travel is not risk free. Travelling and gathering can increase your risk of getting and spreading COVID-19. If you want to travel, think about the need and assess your risks. Your decision counts for ending this pandemic. If you decide to travel and gather, do it safely:  Remember the 3 W’s – wear a mask, wash your hands, and watch your distance. Measure your risk door-to-door: From the moment you close the door of your place to the moment you open it again, assess step by step the risk you are exposed to and take the right precautions. Cleaning hands frequently, keeping safe distance and wearing a mask are proven to protect you.  Avoid the three Cs: More than the travel itself, it is the place that matters. Settings that are Closed, Confined or Crowded, will put you at higher risk of being infected with COVID-19. Choose open, ventilated settings, keep at least one-meter distance from others, and wear your mask. In many settings it might be impossible to avoid all three Cs.

The European Commission (EC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have joined forces to support the institutions responsible for youth employment policy in the Western Balkans in introducing a youth guarantee (YG). The European Training Foundation (ETF) is also a partner in the realization of interventions. Inspired by similar schemes in the EU Member States, a youth guarantee is a commitment to support every young person under the age of 30 who is not employed, in education or training (so-called NEETs). This commitment entitles young people to receive a good quality offer of employment, traineeship, apprenticeship, or continued education within four months of leaving school or becoming unemployed. The EC/ILO support includes the adaptation of the youth guarantee to the Western Balkans through policy, programming and monitoring support, advanced training, and peer-learning across Western Balkans and EU. This EC/ILO Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) comes after the second EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Meeting on Employment and Social Affairs on 8 July, at which ministers and representatives responsible for employment endorsed a Declaration on ensuring sustainable labour market integration of young people. The Declaration recognises the disproportionate negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the labour market situation of young people and spells out a commitment to gradually implement youth guarantees in the region. The Declaration takes inspiration from the EU Council Recommendation of 30 October 2020 on A Bridge to Jobs – Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee. Young people are bearing the brunt of the massive economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, youth employment fell by 8.7 per cent in 2020 compared with 3.7 per cent for adults. An examination of the share of young people who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET) provides a snapshot of young people’s overall vulnerability to the economic situation. Simply stated, if the employment rate goes down, either the NEET rate or the educational participation rate (or both) must increase. Clearly, a reduction of employment compensated by an increase in education is, in principle, more desirable than an increase in NEET rates. However, in the Western Balkans, the loss of employment and the rise in inactivity has not – in general – been offset by a return to education. In Montenegro, for instance, four out of five young people who lost their job became inactive rather than unemployed, but did not go back to education. NEET rates in the Western Balkan economies remained above the pre-crisis level throughout 2020, although in some cases they declined from their peak in 2020Q2, thanks to the measures implemented. In Serbia, one out of five young people fall within the NEET category, but it can be as high as one out of three in other parts of the region. The ILO has called on governments for action to prevent short-term exit of youth from the labour market turning into long-term exclusion for a generation of young people. The implementation of a youth guarantee could help in avoiding long-term scarring effects, i.e. the increased likelihood of more spells of unemployment or inactivity, lower earning prospects, and lower chances of obtaining a good quality job. The ILO is a specialised technical agency that leads the action of the United Nations system on employment and the world of work. This partnership with the European Commission to facilitate the establishment of youth guarantees in the Western Balkans builds on the previous EC/ILO Joint Action on the Youth Guarantee targeted at EU member states. It contributes to achieving the objectives set out in the EC’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans (EIP) in October 2020. The EIP promotes long-term economic recovery, a green and digital transition, regional integration, and convergence with the European Union; it includes a flagship initiative on the Youth Guarantee with a view to offering better perspectives to young people and mitigating the brain drain.

Pristina, 13 July: As food systems around the world continue to recover from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Institute for Development Policy (INDEP), in partnership with the United Nations Kosovo Team (UNKT) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development (MAFRD), today hosted an interactive discussion to provide input to a summit that will take place in New York in September. This milestone event is drawing on the input of people all over the world to identify sustainable solutions for the future of food. “INDEP has been committed to promoting the Sustainable Development Goals precisely in the areas of reducing pollution, promoting access to quality food for all, and reducing inequalities, and this global conversation on food systems presented the ideal opportunity to discuss how to achieve this in Kosovo,” reflected Burim Ejupi, Executive Director of the Institute for Development Policy and Convenor of today’s event. The meeting brought together over 50 participants for a lively and constructive discussion. The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development Imri Demelezi in his opening remarks reminded participants that a well-functioning food system Is vital for the health and well-being of the people of Kosovo. UN Development Coordinator Ulrika Richardson reflected on food as the building block of life: “Food brings us together as families and communities while supporting jobs. But COVID-19 has reminded us of the clear linkages between inequality, poverty, food and disease. By jointly working towards transforming Kosovo’s food system, we can initiate a shift to a safer, fairer, more sustainable world, “she said. A diverse array of perspectives was shared by farmers, food producers and processers, restaurant owners, bankers, young environmentalists, and other stakeholders. The discussions centred on supply of and demand for sustainably produced food as well as the circular use of food resources to minimise food waste. Participants agreed on several ways that the food system in Kosovo can be strengthened. These included the importance of measuring and integrating the “hidden costs” of food production and food waste (such as environmental, ecological and social costs) and the role of quality transport and storage infrastructure, as a necessary element to enhance access to markets and quality food for all. Discussions were accompanied by expert moderators from INDEP, the Food and Agriculture Organization, UNDP and UN-Habitat. INDEP together with UNKT will now submit the outcomes of the meeting to the organizers of the Food Systems Summit in New York. “This is our chance to take a seat at the table,” said Dardan Abazi, who moderated a final plenary providing recommendations. “Through our joint feedback, we will be joining a global community of people committed to transforming food systems around the world.” To learn more about the event, visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/331079605326415/?ti=ls About the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit: The UN Food Systems Summit was announced by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on World Food Day in October 2020 as a part of the Decade of Action for delivery on the SDGs by 2030. The aim of the Summit is to deliver progress on all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals through a food systems approach, leveraging the interconnectedness of food systems to global challenges such as hunger, climate change, poverty and inequality. More information about the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and list of Advisory Committee and Scientific Group members can be found online: https://www.un.org/foodsystemssummit

The Report further noted that in the last 24 years cannabis potency had increased by as much as four times in parts of the world, even as the percentage of adolescents who perceived the drug as harmful fell by as much as 40 per cent, despite evidence that cannabis use is associated with a variety of health and other harms, especially among regular long-term users. "Lower perception of drug use risks has been linked to higher rates of drug use, and the findings of UNODC’s 2021 World Drug Report highlight the need to close the gap between perception and reality to educate young people and safeguard public health,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly. “The theme of this year’s International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is “Share facts on drugs. Save lives”, emphasizing the importance of strengthening the evidence base and raising public awareness, so that the international community, governments, civil society, families and youth can make informed decisions, better target efforts to prevent and treat drug use, and tackle world drug challenges.” According to the Report, the percentage of Δ9-THC —the main psychoactive component in cannabis— has risen from around six per cent to more than 11 per cent in Europe between 2002-2019, and around four per cent to 16 per cent in the United States between 1995-2019, while the percentage of adolescents that perceived cannabis as harmful declined by 40 per cent in the United States and by 25 per cent in Europe. Moreover, most countries have reported a rise in the use of cannabis during the pandemic. In surveys of health professionals across 77 countries, 42 per cent asserted that cannabis use had increased. A rise in the non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs has also been observed in the same period.  Drug Use Rising, but Science-Based Treatment More Available Between 2010-2019 the number of people using drugs increased by 22 per cent, owing in part to global population growth. Based on demographic changes alone, current projections suggest an 11 per cent rise in the number of people who use drugs globally by 2030 -- and a marked increase of 40 per cent in Africa, due to its rapidly growing and young population. According to the latest global estimates, about 5.5 per cent of the population aged between 15 and 64 years have used drugs at least once in the past year, while 36.3 million people, or 13 per cent of the total number of persons who use drugs, suffer from drug use disorders. Globally, over 11 million people are estimated to inject drugs, half of whom are living with Hepatitis C. Opioids continue to account for the largest burden of disease attributed to drug use. The two pharmaceutical opioids most commonly used to treat people with opioid use disorders, methadone and buprenorphine, have become increasingly accessible over the past two decades. The amount available for medical use has increased six-fold since 1999, from 557 million daily doses to 3,317 million by 2019, indicating that science-based pharmacological treatment is more available now than in the past. The Dark Web Drug markets on the dark web only emerged a decade ago but major ones are now worth at least US$ 315 million in annual sales. Although this is just a fraction of overall drug sales, the trend is upwards with a fourfold increase between 2011 to mid-2017 and mid-2017 to 2020. Rapid technological innovation, combined with the agility and adaptability of those using new platforms to sell drugs and other substances, is likely to usher in a globalized market where all drugs are more available and accessible everywhere. This, in turn, could trigger accelerated changes in patterns of drug use and entail public health implications, according to the Report. The Drug Market Rebounds and Shifts The new report shows that drug markets have swiftly resumed operations after the initial disruption at the onset of the pandemic; a burst that has triggered or accelerated certain pre-existing trafficking dynamics across the global drug market. Among these are: increasingly larger shipments of illicit drugs, a rise in the frequency of overland and water-way routes used for trafficking, greater use of private planes for the purpose of drug trafficking, and an upsurge in the use of contactless methods to deliver drugs to end-consumers. The resilience of drug markets during the pandemic has demonstrated once again traffickers’ ability to adapt quickly to changed environments and circumstances. The Report also noted that cocaine supply chains to Europe are diversifying, pushing prices down and quality up and thereby threatening Europe with a further expansion of the cocaine market. This is likely to widen the potential harm caused by the drug in the region. The number of new psychoactive substances (NPS) emerging on the global market fell from 163 in 2013 to 71 in 2019. This reflects trends in North America, Europe and Asia. The findings suggest national and international control systems have succeeded in limiting the spread of NPS in high income countries, where NPS first emerged a decade ago. Drug Risks, New Developments Spurred by Pandemic COVID-19 has triggered innovation and adaptation in drug prevention and treatment services through more flexible models of service delivery. Many countries have introduced or expanded telemedicine services due to the pandemic, which for drug users means that healthcare workers can now offer counselling or initial assessments over the telephone and use electronic systems to prescribe controlled substances. While the impact of COVID-19 on drug challenges is not yet fully known, the analysis suggests that the pandemic has brought increasing economic hardship that is likely to make illicit drug cultivation more appealing to fragile rural communities. The social impact of the pandemic –driving a rise in inequality, poverty, and mental health conditions particularly among already vulnerable populations-- represent factors that could push more people into drug use.  *** After the embargo has lifted, the 2021 World Drug Report and further content will be available here: https://wdr.unodc.org/ The 2021 World Drug Report provides a global overview of the supply and demand of opiates, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine-type stimulants and new psychoactive substances (NPS), as well as their impact on health, taking into account the possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. * *** * For further information and interview requests, please contact: Brian Hansford Chief, UNODC Advocacy Section
Phone: (+43-699) 1458-3225
Email: brian.hansford[at]un.org