By Stanley Senya
Accra , Dec. 2, GNA – The Akuapim South Municipal Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), with support from Mrs Lawrencia Adwoa Dziwornu, Member of Parliament for Akuapim South, has engaged stakeholders on the dangers of substance abuse among the youth.
The stakeholder engagement, held in Kitase, brought together representatives from the clergy, traditional leaders, associations, students, opinion leaders, health professionals, and ghetto boys.
Addressing participants in his welcome remarks, Mr Osman Seidu, Akuapim South Municipal Director of NCCE, said data from the Narcotics Control Commission indicates that out of 50,000 drug users in Ghana, 35,000 are students from Junior High Schools, Senior High Schools, and tertiary institutions, aged between 12 and 35 years.
The remaining 15,000 users are adults, comprising 9,000 males and 6,000 females.
He added that Greater Accra topped the prevalence of substance abuse among the 16 administrative regions in Ghana.
Mr Seidu described the rate of substance abuse among the youth as alarming and called for deliberate efforts to curb the menace.
Mrs. Judith Kokui Azumah, Mental Health Officer of the Akuapim South Municipal Health Directorate, observed that rehabilitation for mental health cases was not covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), making treatment expensive and urged the youth to abstain from drug use.
Mrs Azumah recommended that drug abuse education be incorporated into the school curriculum to teach pupils about its negative effects at an early stage, stressing that this could help reduce drug abuse in the country.
She also appealed to members of society to provide support to those addicted to drugs.
Pastor Benjamin Kwakye, the Presiding minister of the Church of Pentecost in Kitase, commended the NCCE for the initiative and encouraged the Commission to collaborate with other agencies to intensify the campaign against substance abuse.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba