Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani and area County Commissioner Stephen Orinde have urged youths to shun drug abuse and addiction for a better future.
The two leaders said drug and substance abuse affects not only the mental and emotional health, but also the productivity of an individual.
The duo, accompanied by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) county coordinator Eunice Kiala said drugs and substance abuse had become a menace in the coastal county.
The call comes even as residents in many parts of the coastal county, blamed a spike in burglaries, muggings, purse snatchings and mobile phone thefts on drug addicts hunting for quick money to feed their habits, mostly bhang and heroin.
They were speaking to the press after attending a local football tournament held at Kombani Grounds in Waa/Ng’ombeni Ward, Matuga sub county.
Achani said drug and substance abuse destroys dreams and destinies rendering users useless for life if care is not taken to reverse the unfortunate trend.
The county boss underscored the need by stakeholders to address the root causes of drug and substance abuse and prioritize prevention, particularly among young people.
“Drug and substance abuse continues to affect individuals, families, and communities, resulting in severe health risks, broken relationships, and decreased productivity among our youth,” she said.
Achani called on the society to end the stigma associated with drug addiction in the region, noting that those abusing hard drugs and other banned substances needed love, care and rehabilitation in order to be useful members of the society once again.
She urged the society to treat drug addicts with humility since they needed everyone’s love and acceptance to reform, adding that the county’s Kombani drug rehabilitation centre would continue to treat those fighting addiction.
She said currently the drug rehabilitation centre is assisting at least 900 youth who are fighting to kick off addiction.
“We have the Kombani Rehabilitation Center, which has supported over 900 clients. More than 600 of them have received short-term residential treatment, while the rest are in outpatient care,” Achani noted.
The Kombani drug rehabilitation centre offers free drug treatment and rehabilitation services for recovering substance users offering hope for drug addicts by providing both outpatient and inpatient programmes.
Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines and bhang.
Achani said the Kombani Rehab Centre operates under international standards of drug-use prevention and that recovering users are released to their families.
She said treatment includes medication for depression or other disorders, counseling by experts and sharing of experience with other addicts.
“Once they are out of the rehab centre, we ask their families to follow up on them to ensure they do not start socializing again with drug users and run the risk of relapse,” she said.
On his part, the County Commissioner (CC) urged religious leaders and community-based organizations to work together with the national and county governments to effectively tackle the scourge.
Orinde stated that good parenting can help curb the alarming rate of drug abuse and called on parents to monitor their children closely to know when they are getting involved with drugs.
The CC said parents and guardians need to realize that early intervention is critical and that they need to pay attention to signs and symptoms of drug use and maintain open and honest communication with the youth under their care.
He called on all relevant stakeholders to actively participate in raising awareness about the dangers of drug and substance abuse among the young people.
The county NACADA Coordinator stated that the agency will continue to build a sustainable ecosystem to support the recovery efforts of drug addicts in Kwale.
Kiala stressed on the need for relevant stakeholders to join hands with NACADA to aggressively tackle drug and substance abuse among the youth.
According to NACADA, hundreds of youths are addicted to drugs in Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, and Lamu counties, and substance abuse continues to be a challenge for the authorities.
The anti-drug agency says the alarming rate of hard drug use among the youth in the region has assumed a worrisome dimension despite persistent campaigns against the vice.
The main function of NACADA is to campaign against drug abuse and create awareness on the dangers of drug abuse.
The agency also coordinates all other government agencies and departments concerned with suppression of supply and drug demand reduction.
By Hussein Abdullahi
