Crucial steps needed in the fight against drug abuse

What you need to know:

  • According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, 200 million people are using illicit drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, hallucinogens and opiates worldwide.
  • The UN is determined to create an international society free of drug abuse.

Kenya joins the rest of the world on Sunday in marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The event, celebrated on June 26 each year, is meant to raise awareness of the problems that illicit drugs present to our society. The national event will be held at Huruma Grounds in Nairobi, with related and county-specific ones in Mombasa and Kwale counties.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 200 million people are using illicit drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, hallucinogens and opiates worldwide.

The UN is determined to create an international society free of drug abuse. To aptly drive this agenda, a global advocacy campaign slogan “Support Don’t Punish” has been coined, calling for better drug policies that prioritise public health and human rights of the addicts.

The campaign aims to promote drug policy reform, and change laws which impede access to harm reduction interventions. Harm reduction refers to programmes and strategies aimed at reducing the negative consequences of drug use.

This campaign is about identifying the drug control systems in need of reform. It advocates that people who use drugs should not be criminalised; people involved in drug trade at low levels should face proportionate punishments; the death penalty should never be imposed for petty drug offences; drug policy should focus on health and that, by 2020, 10 per cent of global resources spent on drug policies should be invested in public health.

Drug policies in Kenya and her neighbours have over the years remained punitive and have been shown to be associated with high HIV prevalence and risk behaviour among people who inject drugs (PWID). The National AIDS and STI Control Programme (NASCOP) puts this figure at around 18,000 Kenyans.

Subsequent governments have been reluctant to address the problem in a setting where drug use stigma is persistent and criminalised. This notwithstanding, the government has taken a bold and innovative step to reduce HIV transmission among people who inject drugs.

The comprehensive package for HIV prevention among this cadre of people is a significant step forward in this process. In Mombasa, for instance, government decentralised drug dependence treatment to outpatient centres. The model is to be adopted in other regions. HIV testing and counselling is also now available to drug users in these centres.

HIV PREVENTION

The 2009 Government Modes of Transmission Study recognised HIV among prisoners and people who inject drugs as a significant driver of the HIV epidemic, contributing over 33 per cent to all new infections. Parliament endorsed the comprehensive package for HIV prevention for this group.

On its part, the civil society led by Kenya Aids NGO Consortium, has taken a lead in coming up with programmes that provide for service delivery and policy discussions with the government and stakeholders to achieve a favourable environment for people who inject drugs.

Efforts have been made through partners to ensure funding for these programmes both locally and internationally. Despite these crucial gains, a lot still remains to be done for the welfare of Kenyans who find themselves in the clutches of drugs.

One urgent step the government needs to take is integrate the rights of this cadre of its citizens in the Constitution. Health is a right and ratified treaties form part of the law. People who inject drugs have rights too. Similarly, county governments should be empowered to tailor their policies to accommodate the needs of the people.

The National Health Policy/ Health law is too broad. There should be mention of specific clauses in it, including health benefits for people who inject drugs. The policy vaguely refers to rehabilitation and reduction of harm without a clear adoption of policy direction on harm reduction for drug use.

There should also be an integration of harm reduction in National Health Policy, relevant county health regulations and in the amendments to the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act.

Finally, laws and policies governing National Aids Control Council, NASCOP, National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Kenya Medical Supplies Agency need to be reviewed to cater for the rising problem of drug user health.

Bernice Apondi is programme manager, Global Fund Regional Harm Reduction Project, Kenya Aids NGO Consortium.