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UNESCO sees better education key to fight doping in sports

Xinhua, October 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

Paris-based United Nations's education agency UNESCO called on Tuesday for a major focus on improving education and enhancing prevention tools to fight doping in sports.

"Prevention is better than cure. We have achieved a great deal in the last decade. We must continue our advocacy work to educate and enforce in order to fulfill our ambition of eradicating doping from sport worldwide. The only possible way to fight doping effectively is through education," said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.

To mark a decade of fight against doping in sports, UNESCO, will host the fifth session of the Conference of Parties (COP5) to the International Convention against Doping in Sport here in Paris on Oct. 29-30.

More than 250 representatives of governments and the sport movement are expected at the meeting alongside former Olympic medalists, such as Canadian Olympic cross-country champion Beckie Scott and Romanian Olympic champion fencer Laura Badea.

Participants will "discuss anti-doping challenges and propose solutions in line with the Convention to eliminate doping at a time of growing concern about the use of performance enhancing drugs by teenagers and young adults, including recreational athletes".

"Educating young sportswomen and sportsmen about the dangers of using prohibited substances is key to eradicating this scourge among future generations of athletes," UNESCO said.

The UN education agency, which manages a 1.8 million U.S. dollar-anti-doping fund, pointed that "the use of performance enhancing substances not only caused serious health problems but also undermined fairness and ethics in sport".

Created in 2008, the fund aims to help members enforce the Convention adopted on Oct. 19, 2005, and which allows members to harmonize their laws to combat the use of prohibited substances in sport.

With the millions of dollars's fund, UNESCO also was working to reinforce anti-doping capacity, educate about the dangers of doping and help ensure sportsmen and sportswomen make choices compatible with clean sport practices and fair play, according to UNESCO. Endit