Dr. Anselme Simeon Sanou has more than 15 years of experience in epidemiology and international health with national, regional and international organisations in designing and implementing various programmes to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats. Since 2021, he has been leading the Health and Drug Demand Reduction Unit at the Regional Office for West and Central Africa of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). In his daily work, he coordinates programmes/projects related to drug information systems, drug use prevention, treatment of drug use disorders in the region. He is a medical epidemiologist and holds a Medical Degree from the University of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), a Master in Epidemiology from the University of Bordeaux (France), and a PhD in International Health and Epidemiology from the University of Bergen (Norway).