A new report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime indicates that drug abuse in East Africa is on the rise, with statistics showing an increase in heroine seizures in Kenya and Tanzania in 2010.According to the 2012 World Drug Report, worldwide, there are 27 million “problem drug abusers”, with 200,000 people dying from drug-related illnesses every year.In Rwanda, a recent survey showed that nearly 53 per cent of the youth between 14 and 35 years of age had abused drugs at least once, with drug abuse said to be one of the main causes of mental disorder in the country.Statistics also indicate an increase in drug and alcohol induced mental illnesses at Ndera Neuropsychiatric Hospital – accounting for 30 per cent of total cases at the national facility.A similar trend is reported in other East African countries, often with far worrying figures. Illicit drugs do not only affect the abusers and their families but have dire consequences on the economy as well.At national level, each East African Community (EAC) partner state tries to contain the threat individually. In May, Rwanda launched a six-month campaign against drug abuse, especially among the youth.Yet each of these countries is increasingly becoming a major transit and destination for illicit drugs. The same can be said of the other regional countries outside the EAC bloc. Drug dealers continue to take advantage of the porous borders and use sophisticated tactics to beat security.It is clear no single country can successfully fight illicit drugs without the genuine cooperation of its neighbours and the wider region. Drugs are a highly lucrative business as we have seen in Mexico, Afghanistan and several other countries.It is, therefore, important that regional integration communities such as EAC make the fight against illicit drugs a top priority.Otherwise drug abuse will increasingly threaten national development as well as integration objectives as more and more energetic citizens fall victims.
