Updated Opioid Dependence Treatment and Overdose Prevention Guidelines

WHO News

Published April 2nd, 2026

Detected April 3rd, 2026

Summary

WHO announced updates to guidelines for opioid dependence treatment and overdose prevention, including new conditional recommendations for long-acting injectable buprenorphine alongside continued strong recommendations for methadone and oral buprenorphine. The full guidelines are expected later in 2026 or early 2027. Currently, fewer than 10% of approximately 64 million people worldwide with drug use disorders receive treatment.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

WHO has issued a rapid communication announcing revisions to its guidelines on opioid dependence treatment and community management of opioid overdose. Key changes include a new conditional recommendation extending guidance to include long-acting injectable buprenorphine formulations, while reaffirming strong recommendations for opioid agonist maintenance treatment (OAMT) with methadone and oral buprenorphine. The updates aim to address the treatment gap, as fewer than 10% of an estimated 64 million people with drug use disorders currently receive treatment, despite 450,000 deaths annually attributed to opioid use.

Healthcare providers and public health authorities should prepare for implementation of these updated recommendations once the full guidelines are published later in 2026 or early 2027. The guidelines will include detailed recommendations, supporting rationale, evidence profiles, implementation considerations, and identified research gaps. No specific compliance deadline is stated in this preliminary announcement. Organizations providing opioid dependence treatment should review current protocols against these forthcoming updates to identify necessary adjustments.

What to do next

Review current opioid agonist maintenance treatment protocols against forthcoming WHO recommendations
Prepare clinical staff for potential integration of long-acting injectable buprenorphine formulations
Monitor WHO for publication of complete guidelines expected later in 2026 or early 2027

Source document (simplified)

WHO / Ahmad Yusni
A pharmacist dispensing medicines at Methadone Clinic. © Credits

WHO updates guidelines on opioid dependence treatment and overdose prevention

Rapid communication on selected recommendations

2 April 2026 Departmental update Reading time:
WHO announces the update of several recommendations in the forthcoming guidelines for the treatment of opioid dependence and the community management of opioid overdose.

Opioid dependence remains a major contributor to global morbidity and mortality. An estimated 316 million people worldwide used drugs in 2023, including around 61 million people who engaged in non-medical opioid use. Opioids continue to account for the largest share of the drug-related health burden, including fatal overdose. Of approximately 600 000 deaths attributed to drug use globally, about 450 000 are due to opioid use.

Ensuring that people with opioid dependence—and those at risk of opioid overdose—have access to affordable, ethical, high-quality and evidence-based support and care is essential. Although an estimated 64 million people worldwide are living with drug use disorders, fewer than 10% currently receive treatment.

To support countries in addressing this gap, WHO develops and updates guidelines on the treatment of opioid dependence and community management of opioid overdose. These guidelines aim to expand access to effective care and reduce deaths from opioid overdose through evidence-based recommendations.

In accordance with WHO methods for the guideline development, the updated recommendations were informed by a rigorous process that considered the balance of benefits and harms, values and preferences, cost-effectiveness, equity, acceptability and feasibility. Comprehensive findings from systematic literature reviews of quantitative and qualitative evidence were examined by the Guideline Development Group (GDG), which updated the existing and formulated the new recommendations.

In the updated guidelines, WHO reaffirms its recommendation for the opioid agonist maintenance treatment (OAMT)—defined as the administration of rigorously evaluated opioid agonists by accredited professionals within recognized medical practice to people with opioid dependence to achieve defined treatment goals. Alongside the continued strong recommendations for OAMT with methadone and oral buprenorphine, WHO now extends its guidance to include new formulations of long-acting injectable buprenorphine (conditional recommendation).

Under the oversight of the WHO Guidelines Review Committee, and in consultation with the GDG and the guidelines methodologist, the Steering Group is advancing the peer‑review, finalization, and publication of the full guidelines, which are expected later this year or in early 2027. These guidelines will include detailed recommendations, the supporting rationale, evidence profiles, implementation considerations, identified research gaps, and other relevant information.

News

WHO updates guidelines on opioid dependence treatment and overdose prevention 9 February 2025 Fact sheets

Opioid overdose 29 August 2025