Millions of people face grinding hardship, unless global development groups tackle the damage caused by the failing war on drugs.

This stark message comes today in a shock report from the British charity Health Poverty Action (HPA).

It warns the £65 billion cost for a war fuelling destitution, undermining health and marginalising communities rivals the £84bn worldwide aid budget.

According to the report, Casualties Of War, current global drugs policies — like tax avoidance and climate change — harm anti-poverty initiatives such as the UN millennium development goals.

These policies spark corruption and conflict with poor countries’ governments spending massive sums on drug law enforcement, rather than welfare and education. Relocating even some of this money could make a substantial difference in addressing poverty.

The report cites poll figures that show more than eight in 10 Britons believe the war on drugs cannot be won. And over half favour legalising or decriminalising at least some illicit drugs.

Yet British development organisations have largely remained silent, while calls for drugs reform come from southern hemisphere counterparts, British tycoon Richard Branson, current and former presidents, Nobel prizewinning economists and ex-UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

The charity urges the British development sector to demand pro-poor motions as nations prepare for the UN general assembly’s special session on drugs next year. Many non-government organisations, including British groups, have no lead contact or set process for participating in the session.  

HPA will launch Casualties Of War at a major event at Parliament tonight.

The report claims many small-scale farmers grow and trade drugs in developing countries as their only income source. Punitive drug policies penalise farmers who do not have access to the land, sufficient resources and infrastructure that they would need to make a sustainable living from other crops. 

Alternative crops or development programmes often fail farmers, because they are led by security concerns and ignore poor communities’ needs.

The charity argues the militarisation of the war on drugs has triggered and been used to justify murder, mass imprisonment and systematic human rights violations. It stresses that criminalising drugs does not reduce use, but spreads disease, deters people from seeking medical treatment and leads to policies that exclude millions of people from vital pain relief source.

Less than 8 per cent of drug users have access to a needle and syringe programme — or opioid substitution therapy — and under 4 per cent of those living with HIV have access to HIV treatment.

In west Africa, people with conditions linked to cancer and Aids face severe restrictions in access to pain relief drugs, amid feared diversion to illicit markets.

Low and middle-income countries have 90 per cent of Aids patients around the globe and half of the world’s people with cancer, but use only 6 per cent of morphine given for pain management.

HPA states that the war on drugs criminalises the poor — women are worst hit — through disproportionate imprisonment and the loss of livelihoods.  

Drug crop eradication devastates the environment and forces producers underground, often to areas with fragile ecosystems.

The governments of Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala seek an open, evidence-based discussion on UN drugs policy reform. Both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNAIDS not only shares this view, but have called for the decriminalisation of drugs use.

The report’s factsheet tells how a pioneering scheme, part-funded through a charity established by British pop star Elton John has aided efforts to reduce harm and HIV among Tanzanian drug users. The scheme, run by Doctors of the World, has supported people like HIV-positive drug user Rehema who has become the country’s first drug-user employed as an HIV counsellor.

Failure to tackle the impacts of punitive drug policies will undermine attempts to strengthen health systems. It will lead to ineffective development programmes and deeper poverty, with increasing corruption and violence.

The UN general assembly’s special drugs session next year provides the opportunity we must seize to champion pro-poor drug policies around the world.

The official launch of the report will take place at 5.30pm tonight at IPU room in the Palace of Westminster, London SW1. It has been organised by Health Poverty Action (HPA), together with the British group Inter-Parliamentary Union. The union aims to serve British interests by advancing the parliamentary dimension of Britain’s foreign relations. The speakers are: Catherine Martin, Baroness Meacher — who chairs the parliamentary all-party drug policy reform group, Sir Keith Morris — former British ambassador in Colombia, Jeremy Corbyn MP — vice-chair of the parliamentary all-party human rights group, Dr Julia Buxton — professor at Budapest’s school of public policy in the Central European University.