Nikhil Aiyush Kumar 
A new regional program is targeting the rising drug threat affecting young people in Fiji and Samoa.
Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Tajima says Japan has committed about $12 million to support efforts to protect children and adolescents from drug-related harm.
He says Japan has already supported Fiji through maritime law enforcement training
The four-year initiative will be carried out by UNICEF Pacific and aims to reach thousands of students and vulnerable youth across the region.
“Japan has stood firmly with Fiji in this fight, providing maritime law enforcement training, drug detection devices and digital border management systems”
Tajima says criminal networks are increasingly targeting Pacific countries.
He adds that this project is not an isolated effort, it is designed to breathe life into Fiji’s National Counter-Narcotics Strategy and the Child Justice Act of 2024 as it will integrating health, education, social welfare and justice, we are building a whole-of-society defence that ensures no child falls through the cracks of the system.
Acting Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga says children who use drugs should not only be treated as offenders.
“Children who are using drugs are not simply offenders. They are children at risk of harm And children who are drawn into drug literacy may themselves be victims of exploitation”
The program is expected to reach more than 150,000 students, support 10,000 high-risk adolescents and train nearly 3,000 frontline workers including teachers, police and healthcare staff.
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