In its prevention efforts against drug abuse, the Health Ministry will be placing heavy emphasis on targeting vulnerable groups within the population, especially young people.
Project Lead of the Drug Demand Reduction Unit, Dr Travis Freeman appeared on the recent Health Matters Programme where he related that the focus will be placed on drug abuse and illicit trafficking prevention.
The intention, he said, is to delay the onset or initial use of drugs within communities.
“We have a target population, which would include in and out of school youths, persons from communities where there is some sort of marginalisation, institutionalised and other target groups. Those are the populations that we focus on and the intention is for us to delay the onset or initial use of drugs. Hence why we’re focusing on those in and out of school youths,” he underlined.
Zeroing in on stakeholder involvement, Dr Freeman highlighted that the community is a critical player in removing stigma and discrimination against drug users. Rather, he noted that they should work towards having those persons in rehabilitative institutions.
Project Lead of the Drug Demand Reduction Unit, Dr Travis Freeman
“When we see persons or we suspect persons are misusing a substance, rather than discriminate or stigmatise against them, we can get them help and treatment at one our drug treatment and care sites. The Ministry of Health currently has more than 10 treatment sites and they’re all accessible at the local community health facility.”
For existing users of illicit drugs, the public health officer encouraged that help is always available, provided through several facilities across the country.
“Substance abuse is a big issue and it doesn’t have to be taken on by you only. We’re here to help you and to work along to get the right help that the individual who might be misusing a substance needs. I want to encourage our youths not to use drugs because of the dire health and social impacts,” he shared.
Meanwhile, the programme also sought to educate that hookah products contain at least 82 toxic chemicals including tar, carbon monoxide, heavy metals, and carcinogens. People who use hookah may be at risk for some of the same diseases as cigarette smoke, including oral cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and decreased fertility.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report 2022 highlighted that around 284 million people aged 15-64 used drugs worldwide in 2020, a 26 per cent increase over the previous decade.
Globally, the report estimates that 11.2 million people worldwide were injecting drugs. Around half of this number were living with hepatitis C, 1.4 million were living with HIV, and 1.2 million were living with both.
Cocaine manufacturing was at a record high in 2020, growing 11 per cent from 2019 to 1982 tons. Cocaine seizures also increased, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, to a record 1424 tons in 2020. Nearly 90 per cent of cocaine seized globally in 2021 was trafficked in containers and/or by sea.
