Accra: The West Africa Drug Policy Network (WADPN) has called on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and national governments to take urgent steps to protect marginalised groups, including people who use drugs, sex workers, and persons with diverse sexual orientations (PWDSO).
According to Ghana News Agency, the Network, in a release signed by Mr. Michael Kumordzi, the Communication Officer, stated that the continued criminalisation of these groups across the subregion was deepening cycles of poverty, stigma, disease, and violence, while undermining public health and human rights. It highlighted that punitive drug laws in countries such as Ghana and Nigeria had contributed to prison overcrowding, high HIV prevalence, and isolation of people from essential healthcare systems.
The statement recalled the position of the West Africa Commission on Drugs, chaired by the late Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General, that drug use should be treated primarily as a public health matter and not a criminal offence. The Network emphasized that decriminalisation does not encourage drug use but ensures resources are redirected from punishment to harm reduction, rehabilitation, and community care. It cited Portugal and Uruguay as examples where such reforms had led to improved health outcomes and a reduction in crime.
Regarding sex work, the statement noted that Senegal remained the only country in West Africa with a regulated framework, which had contributed to lowering HIV transmission and improving access to health services. However, in Ghana, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso, sex workers continued to face arbitrary arrests, harassment, and limited legal protection, compounded by weak health infrastructure.
The statement further highlighted the vulnerability of PWDSO in the region, citing Nigeria’s Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, Ghana’s anti-human rights bill, and the lack of protective laws in Burkina Faso as examples of state-sanctioned discrimination. It stressed that these legal environments violated the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantees dignity, equality, and freedom from discrimination for all persons.
The Network urged ECOWAS to adopt a regional human rights and health strategy for key populations, support member states to reform punitive laws, scale up harm reduction programmes, and monitor abuses against sex workers and PWDSO. The statement concluded by calling on governments to amend repressive laws, expand community-led health services, fund rights-based education and policing reforms, and include affected communities in decision-making.