Madar (Nouakchott) - The new youth centre in Aleg hosted on Thursday, 5 November 2026, the official launch workshop of a project to strengthen young people's participation in community prevention of drugs and psychotropic substances in Brakna region (RPJ-PCD), the Mauritanian News Agency (AMI) reported.
The project runs for a full year, from 5 November 2026 to 5 November 2027, and covers the region's six districts: Aleg, Magta-Lahjar, Maal, Boghe, M'Bagne and Bababe. It targets 150 young people, 25 from each district, at least 60 of them young women, the agency said.
The programme includes six training sessions and six awareness caravans, along with activities to build communication and persuasion skills, prepare awareness campaigns, encourage local initiatives and strengthen dialogue between generations, involving families, local authorities and community and religious leaders. It aims to reach some 15,000 people indirectly.
The project is run by the Organisation for Combating Youth Extremism and Promoting Citizenship, in cooperation with the "Seeds of Citizenship" programme and in coordination with the regional delegation of the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Employment, Sports and Civic Service.
The organisation's president, Abdallahi Eddaye Messoud, said the project responds "to the social challenges linked to the spread of drugs and psychotropic substances", describing young people as "key partners" in prevention within their communities. The Brakna governor's adviser for political and social affairs, Abouh Ould Taleb, who opened the workshop, said fighting drugs was a "shared responsibility" of public authorities, civil society, schools and young people.
The launch came two days after the National Assembly on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, passed a new law on combating drugs and psychotropic substances that broadens the range of offences, toughens penalties for organised groups and introduces a treatment-based approach for users.
