Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global population has faced an unprecedented challenge and experienced devastating personal, social and economic losses. Our way of life has changed drastically, as we collectively apply measures to halt the spread of the virus and protect the health of our communities.

The pandemic has demonstrated the need for universal access to health care, including access to medicines containing controlled substances and uninterrupted services for the prevention of drug abuse and treatment of substance use disorders.

It remains essential for governments to ensure continued access to controlled medicines for all COVID-19 related medical needs and also for other ongoing medical needs, such as those related to pain relief and palliative care, mental health and neurological conditions, and the treatment of drug use disorders. INCB continues to call on all countries and territories to ensure the maintenance of sufficient buffer stocks of controlled substances to guarantee availability of those medicines throughout the pandemic.

The international drug control system has proven to be effective in ensuring the continued international trade in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals for industrial, medical and scientific purposes. Despite heightened demand for some controlled substances at the beginning of the pandemic, countries have been able to continue to import quantities of controlled substances to meet their estimated requirements. There is a strong need, however, for governments to improve the accuracy of their estimates and assessments of licit requirements for narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, to improve availability of and access to medicines containing controlled substances and to ensure that no patient suffers unnecessarily. INCB is building the capacity of competent national authorities in this regard through INCB Learning, in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

During the pandemic, INCB convened an expert group meeting to ensure the timely supply of and access to controlled substances during emergency situations. We are highlighting the need for Governments to exercise flexibility in implementing simplified control measures for the international trade in those substances, so as to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance. On the occasion of World Humanitarian Day, 19 August 2021, INCB launched its factsheet on " Lessons from countries and humanitarian aid organizations in facilitating the Timely Supply of Controlled Substances during Emergency Situations". This document provides recommendations to and calls on governments to improve access to medicines containing controlled substances in emergencies, including pandemics and climate-related disasters. In September 2021, recognizing that access to controlled medicines in emergency situations remains constrained, INCB, UNODC and WHO issued a joint statement calling for collaboration towards effective solutions.

The pandemic has also affected the dynamics of illicit drug markets. Through INCB's Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS Programme), we are supporting governments in preventing the exploitation of e-commerce, social media and the internet, including the dark web, for the illicit marketing of dangerous substances. Key to this is the establishment of public-private partnerships.

Throughout the pandemic, INCB has continued to build the capacity of governments in drug control, and through online meetings and e-learning modules we have been able to reach an even greater number of governments and officials.

I encourage competent national authorities to remain in close contact with the Board and its secretariat, and to inform INCB of any difficulties encountered in the licit international trade of controlled substances or when attempts to divert those substances are identified. INCB remains committed to supporting governments in the functioning of the international drug control system and implementation of the provisions of the drug control conventions, throughout the pandemic and beyond. This will contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals and above all - save lives.

Jagjit Pavadia
President