in addition the global burden of disease study presents deaths related to hiv and hepatitis c as well as other causes that are mostly omitted from unodc reporting oceania based on data from australia and new zealand only also has a high drugrelated mortality rate at more than times the global average a large number of drugrelated deaths per cent of the global total are estimated to occur in asia although this number is tentative because of poor regional coverage and reporting of mortality data despite the large number of deaths the drugrelated mortality rate in asia is below the global average because of differences in reporting comparisons across countries and regions should be made with the greatest of care