Youth need centres for education against abuse of illicit drugs – NYA
The Government has been asked to establish correctional centres, health facilities and youth related organizations to educate the youth on the dangers of the use and abuse of illicit drugs.
Such centres should not take the form of institutes but rather, well equipped and enhanced desks that would create a platform for counselling the youth on drug abuse and its effects on the individual and society.
This has become necessary due to the frightening phenomenon of the involvement of the youth, especially students in drug related issues in the communities, Mr. Gbenya Worlanyo Besa, an official of the National Youth Authority in the Upper West region has said in Wa.
He was speaking at a workshop on drug abuse organized by the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) with support from the German Embassy.
The workshops, which are being organized throughout the country are a prelude to the leadership training camps, which would begin by the end of this month for youth leaders from 20 selected districts.
In the Upper West region 20 participants who attended the workshop came from the Wa Municipality and Sissala West district.
Mr. Besa said drug and substance abuse should be recognized as key social and economic challenge which directly affects the development of quality human resource base, quality delivery of health services and the level of the nation’s human security.
Mr. Samuel Akuamoah, Director of Programmes of the NCCE said the country has been divided into four zones comprising northern, middle, eastern and western for the leadership training camps.
He said during the camps, people who had abused illicit drugs would be invited to share their experiences with participants while films on the menace of drugs would also be shown.
He said any time the students were asked to identify problems in their communities almost all of them mentioned drug abuse as the key problem.
This he said, prompted Mrs. Charlotte Osei, the Chairperson of the Commission to source funds from the German Embassy to embark on the education programme to prevent and reduce the production, use, abuse and trafficking of illicit drugs in the country.
Source: GNA