Dilkushi Poovendran coordinates the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD), which conducts scientific reviews to advise the UN the harms to health posed by drugs and their need for medical/scientific use.

The World Health Organization is the specialised agency of the United Nations that conducts the medical, scientific and public health evaluation of psychoactive substances under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. To conduct these scientific assessments, WHO convenes the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD), a scientific advisory body to WHO that consists of an independent group of experts in the field of drugs and medicines and drug dependence liability.

In 2023, WHO received a formal request to consider the international control status of coca leaf, which has been controlled as a Schedule I substance under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs since the international drug control conventions came into place. It is currently under the same level of international control of cocaine, which is also a Schedule I substance listed in the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

WHO is addressing this request by conducting a critical review of coca leaf, which is expected to conclude by the end of 2025 when recommendations will be issued. This session aims to provide additional information on the process, methodologies, and timelines of the WHO ECDD coca leaf review. It will also highlight ways in which stakeholder groups including civil society can actively engage in the scientific review process.