Geneva Course on Drug Policy, Public Health and Diplomacy (2025)

University of Geneva

The course is highly participatory, drawing on the national and international experiences of participants through a multi-disciplinary learning process. It includes lectures by internationally-renowned experts and negotiators, case studies, working groups, and a negotiation simulation exercise.

• CHF 1800.- on-site (site visits included)
• CHF 1600.- on-site (without site visits)
• CHF 1000.- online

A limited number of scholarships will be available for qualified participants. Contact Kamila[.]Guseinova(at)unige.ch  for more details.

Professionals working in policymaking, public health, and human rights including: government representatives from ministries of health, foreign affairs, justice, interior and drug control agencies; representatives from international and regional institutions; representatives from non-governmental organisations; health attachés and diplomats with a portfolio linked to health or drug policy; professionals in academia; parliamentarians.

• Gain insight into the key concepts and current issues related to the international drug control regime and its intersection with public health and human rights
• Negotiate and influence the design and the implementation of drug policies nationally and internationally
• Identify the stakeholders of the current drug policy debate and international processes
• Prioritise public health-based approaches to drug policy at national level

3 modules:

• Drugs, Drug Use, and the International Drug Control Regime
• Drug Policies, UN, and Multilateral Diplomacy
• Drug Policy, Health and Human Rights

Optional site visits

Director(s)

Prof. Michel KAZATCHKINE, Geneva Graduate Institute, Prof. Barabara BROERS, Geneva University Hospitals, and Prof. Alexandra CALMY, Faculty of Medicine, Unviersity of Geneva

This short course will address the following topics: the international Drug Control Regime; drug control, public health, harm reduction and human rights; current issues surrounding cannabis, the opioid and epidemics challenges in access to controlled essential medicines; perspectives for drug policy reform and the current global diplomatic context.

• Prof. Barbara BROERS, Dependencies Unit of the Primary Care Division, Geneva University Hospitals (HUG); Academic advisor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva
• Prof. Alexandra CALMY, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva; University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG)
• Prof. Antoine FLAHAULT, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Chair of the Global Health Institute
• Prof. Michel KAZATCHKINE, Special Advisor to World Health Organization Europe; Senior Fellow, Global Health Centre, the Geneva Graduate Institute; Member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy
• Prof. Thomas ZELTNER, Chairperson, Advisory Board, Global Health Centre, the Geneva Graduate Institute; Former Secretary of Health of Switzerland and Director-General of the Swiss National Health Authority

• CV
• Cover letter

The files will be examined by the programme’s Steering committee. The candidate will be informed of the decision.

Any withdrawal before the start of the programme will incur a cancellation fee of CHF 400[.]00. Enrollment fee will be payable in full once the course has begun.

• Judy CHANG, Executive Director, International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD)
• Morgana DANIELÈ, Member of the Health Committee and Chairwoman of the Addictions Commission, Parliament of Lithuania
• Ruth DREIFUSS, Founding Member, Global Commission on Drug Policy; Former President of Switzerland
• Niamh EASTWOOD, Executive Director, Release
• Ann FORDHAM, Executive Director, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
• Diego GARCÍA-DEVIS, Team Manager, Drug Policy at the Latin America and Caribbean Program, Open Society Foundations
• Alexandrina IOVITA, Technical Advisor, Human Rights, Community Rights and Gender Department, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
• Martin JELSMA, Drugs and Democracy Programme Director, Transnational Institute
• Adeeba KAMARULZAMAN, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University Malaya; Adjunct Associate Professor, Yale University
• Carole LANTERI, Ambassador, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Monaco to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva
• Ricardo Baptista LEITE, Founder and President, Unite Network; Member, Parliament of Portugal
• Emmanuel LUYIRIKA, Executive Director, African Palliative Care Association (APCA)
• Álvaro Enrique Ayala MELENDEZ, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Colombia to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva
• Richard MUSCAT, Head, Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery; Director of the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking, University of Malta
• Samira Cizero NTASANO, Fist Secretary, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva
• Kiusiang TAY-TEO, Technical Officer, Health Products Policy and Standards, Medicines and Health Products, World Health Organization
• Annette VERSTER, Technical Officer on key populations, HIV, and viral hepatitis, World Health Organization
• Daniel WOLFE, Drug Policy Expert; Visiting Scholar, University of North Carolina Opioid Data Lab, United States
• Neil WOODS, Board Member, Law Enforcement Action Partnership United Kingdom
• Zukiswa ZINGELA, Member, International Narcotics Control Board (INCB)

More information