LAHORE: The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has signed a declaration for a new World Anti-Doping Code 2021. POA Secretary General Muhammad Khalid Mahmood told Daily Times on Wednesday that the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) had notified the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code which would come into effect on 1st of January 2021. “It contains certain specific roles and responsibilities that all National Olympic Committees must integrate into their rules and policies by the end of this year. In order to facilitate the implementation of these provisions, the ANOC has sent the declaration developed by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which has to be signed by each NOC and returned to WADA and ANOC before August 31, 2020,” said Khalid. “In consultation with the POA Medical Commission and National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO), the Pakistan Olympic Association has signed the declaration for the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code, thus formally accepting it,” he added. Khalid said that Pakistan’s National Sports Federations were already actively collaborating with WADA, their respective International Federations, POA and NADO for the protection of clean athletes. “It is imperative for our National Sports Federations to follow, adopt and implement all guidelines set by WADA under the new Code.” Doping refers to an athlete’s use of prohibited drugs or methods to improve training and sporting results. Steroids are the drugs that often come to mind when we talk about doping, but doping also includes an athlete’s use of other forbidden drugs such as stimulants, hormones, diuretics, narcotics and marijuana, use of forbidden methods such as blood transfusions or gene doping, and even the refusal to take a drug test or an attempt to tamper with doping controls. It is noteworthy that WADA’s mission is to lead a collaborative worldwide movement for doping-free sport. WADA was established in 1999 as an international independent agency composed and funded equally by the sport movement and governments of the world. Its key activities include scientific research, education, development of anti-doping capacities, and monitoring of the World Anti-Doping Code around the globe. The World Anti-Doping Code is the document that harmonises regulations regarding anti-doping in sport across all sports and all countries of the world. The Code provides a framework for anti-doping policies, rules, and regulations for sport organisations and public authorities. Signatories must make sure that their own rules and policies are in compliance with the mandatory articles and other principles of the Code. WADA assists signatories by reviewing their anti-doping rules to ensure that they are Code-compliant and, where this is not the case, by offering assistance to remedy the situation. It is pertinent to mention that the Code is a living document, and WADA ensures it evolves regularly by engaging in extensive consultation and thorough review of the Code and its associated international standards on a periodic basis. The World Anti-Doping Code was first adopted in 2003 and took effect in 2004. It was subsequently amended three times, the first time effective 1 January 2009, the second time effective 1 January 2015 and the third time effective 1 April 2018. The revised 2021 World Anti-Doping Code is effective as of 1 January 2021.