The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has raised urgent concerns over escalating drug abuse and trafficking across the sub-region, warning that new synthetic substances and surging cocaine flows are fuelling a complex public health and security crisis.
Daniel Amankwa, ECOWAS Principal Programme Officer for Drug Prevention and Control, spoke on the sidelines of the validation of the 2025 West African Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (WENDU) report in Abuja. He described the region’s drug landscape as “rapidly changing,” with criminal networks continuously adapting to enforcement efforts.
While the 2025 report remains under validation, findings from the 2024 edition reveal deeply worrying trends. Cannabis remains the most widely consumed illicit substance, but a sharp rise in new psychoactive substances—including high-dose tramadol, Kush, and other counterfeit pharmaceutical products—has compounded the challenge.
“Tramadol that should ordinarily contain 50 milligrams is now found in 200, 250, 300, 400, and even 500 milligram formulations being abused,” Mr Amankwa said, distinguishing between legitimate medicines and dangerously altered illegal variants.
Cocaine trafficking has expanded dramatically, with arrests and seizures doubling across the region in 2024. Preliminary indications suggest this trajectory is continuing into 2025.
The programme officer stressed that drug dependence perpetuates a vicious cycle linking addiction, unemployment, and poverty, while also driving criminal activity as users resort to illicit means to finance their habits.
Mr Amankwa called for a comprehensive strategy centred on strengthening family structures, early prevention through education, effective law enforcement, and accessible treatment and rehabilitation services. “Drug prevention should not wait until secondary school,” he urged, advocating for age-appropriate awareness campaigns.
He acknowledged that while anti-drug cooperation among ECOWAS member states has improved, trafficking networks remain highly adaptive, introducing new substances and concealment methods to evade detection.
The WENDU report, compiled annually from member-state data, serves as a critical tool for evidence-based policymaking. Its validation process ensures accuracy before regional interventions are designed.
West Africa continues to confront increasingly sophisticated drug trafficking organisations and an ever-evolving synthetic drug market, demanding a coordinated, multi-pronged response from governments and regional bodies alike.