By Abdulai Fasineh Dumbuya
In order to control the addictive substance Kush in the country, the country’s National Coordinator of the Task Force on Drug and Substance Abuse Professor Foday Sahr has committed to reducing the availability of kush by over 80% in one year period.
He made the statement whilst addressing the media at the Ministry of Information and Civil Education’s Weekly Press Conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Freetown on May 7, 2024.
He said one of their goals in the fight against the psychoactive drug is to cut off the substance availability across the country and deny young people who are highly hooked on it.
He pointed out that community engagement is very crucial to achieve this objective, and said it is one of the pillars they are using to make sure that the campaign programmes are fully owned, led and participated by the members of the community.
“Community engagements will be conducted by the ministry of local government together with the social welfare ministry who will gather and channel community feedback which, in turn, will inform our response. It is only when it is community owned that we will write success at the end of the day. And if it is not led by the community, then there is the chance for backlash,” he said.
In terms of rehab centres, he said they have carried out scoop mission exercises, where four teams were sent to identify the available resources in each district and to know the magnitude of the kush problem at community level, saying they have presented their assessment reports.
“This scoop mission was conducted to know what is readily available and what is not available in all the districts so that we can know the gaps and see how we can establish treatment or rehab centers,” he added.
Highlighting a set of priorities they are rolling out in the next couple of days, he spoke of launching a national campaign on kush which he said would be the platform to disseminate accurate information sharing on the dangers associated with the substance.
As part of their efforts to extend the prevention and care treatment and rehabilitation centres across the country, he said they have considered having one centre in each of the regions and then cascading the programme to the other districts.
On the issue of mental health, Professor Sahr spoke of the government's tangible commitment to treating health issues with utmost speed, and explained how they conduct tests to identify the active ingredients of kush. He spoke of plans to extend the mental health facilities.
“When people are identified we will take them through the medical process as well as psychosocial support and later integrate them back to society,” he said.
He assured of their commitment to strengthening and reviewing some of the drug control laws, saying the laws are obsolete and the fines very ridiculous.
He therefore called on every Sierra Leonean to join the fight against Kush, which has impacted the young population and believes that with the power of involvement there is the best chance to curb the spread of kush.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (13/05/24)
