Heroin addicts to begin getting injectable therapy
Mombasa County Health Executive Binti Omar with Coast General Hospital Chief Administrator Bernard Mwero speaking to journalists in 2014. Ms Omar has told journalists that the county would introduce methadone drug in May to treat heroin addicts. She said Mauritius and Ukraine successfully used the drug to deal with the problem of injecting drug usage. FILE PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA |
What you need to know:
- Insurers reluctant to throw their weight behind the effort.
- Bed occupancy at rehabilitation centre low, posing a problem to the effort.
Drug users will start receiving treatment to assist them fight addiction, the county government said on Thursday.
The initiative will be launched in May and it follows a successful pilot project under way at Mathare Hospital, Nairobi, that began towards the end of last year.
Health Executive Binti Omar said the physical and mental health of the more than 20 heroin addicts in the programme had improved drastically.
She said the county was partnering with the United Nations Office on Drugs, National Aids and STI Control Programme and other stakeholders to roll out the treatment.
“We are working with partners to introduce therapy, which targets injecting drug users, especially heroin addicts. We will administer methadone to them,” she said.
She added that instead of having the addicts stop taking drugs — a process that takes long and is marred by relapses — they would be provided with medicine, which would take them off the drugs.
“This treatment is like a substitute. Instead of taking heroin, users take methadone, which is administered under strict conditions. After some time, the addicts stop craving for heroin,” she said.
The treatment has been successfully used to contain drug addiction in Mauritius and Ukraine.
She added that the county was working with security personnel and the community to ensure the treatment was not abused or used as an alternative for addicts.
COULD NOT AFFORD TREATMENT
Ms Omar said there had been a rapid drop in admissions at rehabilitation centres because most addicts could not afford treatment. She said this may hinder the full implementation of the programme.
“We are experiencing low-bed occupancy. There are only four patients instead of 12 since medical insurers no longer cater for three-month admission. Not every patient can afford the Sh1,000 needed per month,” she said at her Mwembe Tayari office.
Ms Omar added that the situation was made worse by reluctance of some medical insurers to support treatment of addicts.
“Kenyatta National Hospital rehab centre is full because patients get three months medical cover. For Mombasa, coverage is for only one month if the addict is lucky,” she said.
The executive said the county government also planned to launch a four-year training programme to prevent youths in school and those who have completed studies from being introduced to drugs.
