Global health. The current scenario and future perspectives

199 not seem to be the most appropriate path. Instead, we believe that new policies should focus on individuals and specific social sectors or groups to adopt a comprehensive and balanced approach while fully respecting human rights. A third element, certainly very relevant, relates to the need for drug policies to consider scientific evidence as an ally (not as a threat) and prioritize a public health approach throughout their development, implementation and evaluation. It is necessary to understand the true role of evidence in decision-making processes. Public policies are ultimately interventions that have an impact on people’s lives and, therefore, we have an ethical duty to minimize the risks associated with these decisions. This is precisely where scientific evidence plays its true role since it provides us with better knowledge about the reality that we are trying to modify and consequently reduces uncertainty in decision-making processes. However, it is also important to understand that scientific evidence requires specific timeframes and adequate funding which often collide with political interests and timelines. Bridges must be built between evidence and policy. They should be allies working towards achieving better public policies for the benefit of the population. Drug use in the hemisphere (epidemiology of drug use) One of the first elements to keep in mind when referring to the public health approach in drug policies, is having good information about the magnitude of the problem and its associated determinants. In this section, we will provide an overview of drug use and its consequences globally and, particularly, on the situation in our continent. According to the latest World Drug Report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for 2022, it is estimate d 15 that for the year 2020, 5.6% of the global population aged between 15 and 64 reported using some substance 16 in the past year (past-year prevalence), which corresponds to 284 million people within that age group. A decade earlier, for the year 2010, UNODC reported a prevalence lower than 5%, equivalent to 226 million people; therefore, there has been a 26% increase in terms of number of users (partly attributable to population growth). 15 The estimates are made based on the best available information from countries. UNODC refers to these estimates as “best estimates”. 16 It refers to the use of controlled psychoactive substances for non-medical or scientific purposes. Therefore, it excludes alcohol and other legal drugs.