By Christine Naadu Lartey, GNA
Tema, Sept. 09, GNA – Daylight Event, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has launched the 2026 World Heart Day Campaign, starting with the sensitisation of school children on substance abuse.
Mrs Sofia Arko, the Tema West Education Director, warned that substance abuse, particularly the use of tramadol, cannabis and shisha, was becoming increasingly common among young people.
“What destroys the heart in adulthood starts in childhood. A heart meant to live up to 70 years is forced to stop at 15 because of drugs,” she said.
Mrs Arko said adults had a responsibility to safeguard children because they represented the future of the nation.
She said the Education Directorate would establish anti-drug clubs in schools, provide counselling and partner health professionals to conduct regular health screenings for students.
She commended Daylight Event, for the initiative which was on the theme: “Say No to Drugs, Don’t Hurt the Heart,” which sought to educate basic and senior high school students on the harmful effects of illicit drug use.
Mrs Arko charged students to protect their hearts and future by resisting peer pressure and saying no to the use of illicit drugs, to enable them to live healthy and productive lives.
Mrs Judith Azuma, the Chief Executive Officer of Restored and Renewed Rehab Centre, said drug addiction should be treated as a medical condition rather than a moral failure.
Mrs Azuma indicated that women struggling with addiction faced additional challenges because of family responsibilities and urged parents not to lock up children battling addiction at home but to rather seek professional medical treatment for them.
Nana Yaw Opoku Danso, the Director of Events at Daylight Event, shared a personal experience of how substance abuse could negatively affect a person’s life and mental health.
“It is not about the crowd; it is about the message,” he said, and appealed to parents and community leaders not to pay bail for young people arrested for drug-related offences but instead assist them to access rehabilitation services.
He said a series of community activities had been planned for the World Heart Day on September 29, to take the campaign’s message to communities across the municipality.
The activities would begin with a street walk on Friday, September 11, involving Junior High and Senior High School students from Tema Communities 2 and 5 to educate the public on drug abuse.
He said the street walk would be followed by the “Tema Fitness Fiesta” on September 27, featuring an exercise session and health screening involving local keep-fit clubs, corporate organisations and personnel from the Police, Army, Navy and Ghana National Fire Service.
The campaign would climax on September 29 with a school conference, where health experts and civic leaders would engage students directly.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Anyorkro Nunoo/ Christabel Addo