BULAWAYO residents should not remain quiet, while families are being torn apart by the scourge of drug and substance abuse, Bulawayo Metropolitan minister of State and Devolution Judith Ncube has said.
In a speech read on her behalf by an official from her office, Ebesta Lumelo, Ncube hailed the Makokoba Seventh Day Adventist church for training 25 Makokoba residents in drug and substance intervention strategies.
Calling on residents to stand up and deal with the scourge Ncube said: “We cannot keep quiet when families are being torn apart by this monster called drug and substance abuse. We need to stand up and do something.
“I am, therefore, happy to see churches such as the Makokoba Seventh Day Adventist Church standing up against this monster. As we know, the results of drug and substance abuse go beyond the abuser.”
Ncube urged the participants to help reduce the supply and demand of drugs in communities.
“Makokoba must prosper. We want to see distinguished academics, artists and professionals coming from this place as was the case in the past,” she said.
Ncube said globally, more than 250 000 lives are lost to illicit drug use.
The World Health Organisation, estimates that about 450 000 people, constituting about 3% of the adult population, have either a drug or alcohol use disorder. Over 40% of young people admit to regular drinking and 15% admit to regular cannabis use, it said.
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It is further estimated that approximately 60% of patients admitted in mental health institutions are there as a result of drug-related problems.
“These statistics clearly show the magnitude of the drug and substance abuse problem that we are faced with as a country,” she said.
Ncube added that the country’s socio-economic challenges have triggered cases of depression, trauma and stress leading to increased drug abuse.
