Samoa’s Acting Prime Minister Hon. Mulipola Anarosa ‘Ale-Molio’o has officially launched the Safe and Resilient Samoa Project, a national initiative aimed at strengthening families, supporting communities, and building a drug-free future for young people.
The project, formally titled Safe and Resilient Samoa, Strengthening Families and Communities for a Drug-Free Future, focuses on prevention, early support, rehabilitation, reintegration, and family-based responses to drug-related harm.
In the keynote address, the Acting Prime Minister said children and adolescents remain at the centre of Samoa’s future.
“Children and adolescents are the heart of Samoa’s future and the greatest inheritance we hold as a nation,” Mulipola stated.
The project comes as Samoa continues to respond to growing concerns around drug use, youth distress, and violence. Community reporting through village networks, including Sui o Nu’u, Sui Tama’ita’i o Nu’u, and local leadership structures, has pointed to the need for a more coordinated national response.
Hon. Mulipola Anarosa ‘Ale-Molio’o said prevention must remain a major part of Samoa’s work, noting that prevention is more effective and sustainable than relying on treatment alone.
The Government has already begun prevention work through community-based efforts, including the Say No to Drugs, Say No to Violence Campaign, which ran from 2024 to 2025. That work is expected to continue in 2026, with further outreach planned for Upolu.
The new project brings together several government agencies and community partners. Early prevention work and gap identification were carried out through the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development, while implementation is now being coordinated through the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration. The Ministry of Health is also involved as a key partner.
Hon. Mulipola Anarosa ‘Ale-Molio’o acknowledged implementing agencies, including focal points from the community, law and justice, and health sectors, as well as civil society organisations.
The launch also called for prevention messages to be culturally grounded and for stronger pathways to be developed for rehabilitation, reintegration, and family support.
“When our children are safe, our youth are strong, and our families are supported, our villages will prosper — and that is the true vision of Aiga ma Nu’u Manuia for Samoa,” She stated.
The Safe and Resilient Samoa Project is expected to support national efforts to protect young people, strengthen village-based prevention, and ensure families are not left to deal with drug-related issues alone.
This article is based on the keynote address delivered by Samoa’s Acting Prime Minister at the launch of the Safe and Resilient Samoa Project.
