The Sunday Mail
Emmanuel Kafe and Wallace Ruzvidzo
THREE years of addiction to hard drugs have turned 24-year-old Simon Mhlanga, who resides in Harare’s Kuwadzana suburb, into an emaciated wreck.
But his story is unique in that, unlike other drug addicts who are in denial, Simon fully understands the impact of his indulgences and now wants to quit.
“I take at least three bottles of codeine daily, and later smoke meth (crystal methamphetamine). When I do not take the drugs, I feel like vomiting or I get a headache.
“Life is now an agonising cycle. When I wake up, I find a way to get money and get high. I no longer have any other aspirations. But I have heard that drug dealers are being arrested en masse. There is a lot of noise over this, so all this makes me want to quit,” he confessed.
Drug abuse is now widely regarded as a silent pandemic but a new noise in fighting the practice has been created by Government, as the authorities step up the war against the scourge.
Although the actual number of abusers is difficult to ascertain, the World Health Organisation last year said 57 percent of reported mental health cases in Zimbabwe were caused by drug and substance abuse.
Also, in 2022, at least 250 patients were admitted to the country’s two largest health referral centres — Sally Mugabe Central Hospital and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals — for substance use disorders linked to the abuse of illicit brews and stimulants such as crystal methamphetamine.
As the country commemorated the National Youth Day on Tuesday, the Government showed that it had put in place a battery of measures to deal with the plague.
This year’s National Youth Day celebrations ran under the theme “Drug and Substance Abuse: A Threat to Vision 2030, Every Community’s Responsibility”, underlining the point that the authorities will leave no stone unturned in combating drug abuse among young people.
In his keynote address at the event, President Mnangagwa said it is imperative for the country to scale up the national response to drug and substance abuse.
The President revealed that the country’s laws will be improved while security at the country’s ports of entry is being tightened to stop the movement and proliferation of harmful drugs.
“To augment these ongoing efforts, the review of legislation and related policy measures on drug and substance abuse is receiving urgent attention,” he said.
The Government recognises importance of treatment, care, rehabilitation, psychosocial support and reintegration as important pillars in fighting drug and substance abuse, he said.
Drug and substance abuse is the leading cause of crime, gang violence, dysfunctional families, injury and premature death of young people.
In one of its key interventions, the Government has set up an inter-ministerial committee to step up implementation of multi-pronged strategies for tackling the scourge.
Since the inter-ministerial committee’s establishment, at least five rehabilitation centres have been set up to help youths affected by substance abuse.
At least 600 substance abusers have already gone through these centres, according to the 2022 Rural Livelihoods Assessment report of the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee.
However, the country currently has a shortage of health specialists such as psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and mental health nurses, an issue commentators feel needs to be addressed to step up the fight against drug abuse.
On another note, the Government is continuing to upgrade existing mental health institutions that will admit affected children, youths and adults.
This includes a dedicated child psychiatric hospital in each province.
The authorities also seek to establish a national call centre for drug and substance abuse, which will provide online psycho-social support. Furthermore, as one of its long-term measures, the Government is working on an integrated skills outreach programme.
Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation chief director Dr Benson Martins Dube told The Sunday Mail that the Government will continue to raise awareness on the deadly vice to protect the country’s largest demography.
“This scourge is threatening the future generation and we need all hands on deck to try and stop drug and substance abuse among our youths.
“Through the indaba (National Youth Day commemorations), community leaders and prominent people were able to talk about the dangers of drug and substance abuse and what it has done to our youths,” he said.
Zimbabwe Youth Council director Brian Nyangwande said work by the inter-ministerial committee on drugs and substance abuse is beginning to bear fruit.
“As a council, we are seeing the results of the work that the Government is doing to nip the drug menace in the bud, from a reduction in demand to rehabilitation and arrests,” he said.
Recently, law-enforcement agents launched an anti-drugs blitz that has led to the arrest of about 3 000 people.
National police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, said the ongoing blitz will be intensified.
“Police will continue conducting raids, as well as stop and search operations, manning roadblocks and also targeting those involved in smuggling at the country’s exit and entry points,” he said.
Rounding up drug kingpins will help save young people, many of whom are struggling with drug addiction.
Due to the raft of measures that have been put in place in recent months, it is clear that the authorities are making the right noise to disrupt the silent pandemic that is ravaging the youth.
Last month, one of Harare’s elite learning institutions, Dominican Convent High School, expelled eight pupils for allegedly abusing drugs while on an educational trip to Nyanga.
Drug havens, popularly referred to as bases, have been sprouting especially in high density suburbs across the country, drawing the attention and action of the police.
Last week, the Zimbabwe Republic Police arrested a suspected Mbare drug lord Simbarashe Chanachimwe, popularly known as Dhama after 20 satchets of marijuana were found in his flat.
Twitter: @ emmanuel_kafe / @RuzvidzoWallace
