Design the Substance Abuse Prevention Programme Nigerian Youth Actually Engage With

Nigeria is experiencing a documented surge in substance use among young people aged 15 to 35, particularly in northern states. Tramadol, codeine, and marijuana are widely available and cheap. The social conditions — unemployment, insecurity, lack of opportunity — that drive substance use are not changing quickly. Existing prevention programmes rely on abstinence messaging and drug scare campaigns that consistently fail to reduce use and in some cases increase curiosity. Your challenge is to design a substance abuse prevention programme for Nigerian youth aged 15 to 25 that is grounded in the evidence on what actually reduces substance initiation and harmful use. Your approach must move beyond scare tactics, address the social drivers of substance use relevant to Nigerian youth contexts, involve peer-led delivery, and produce measurable reductions in harmful use rather than just attitudes. Submit a programme design document (max 12 pages) including: the evidence base for your approach, the peer-led delivery model, the content and activities, how the programme addresses social drivers specific to your target state or region, outcome measurement beyond attitude surveys, cost per participant, and a plan to reach 200,000 young people across three states. Judging criteria: 40% evidence base for the approach and departure from scare tactics, 30% peer-led delivery design, 20% social drivers and cultural adaptation, 10% outcome measurement.