At least 33,113 teenagers, young people and adults benefited from awareness-raising lectures on preventing and combating drugs in the first half of this year in the city of Maputo, the Mozambican capital.
Likewise, 1,642 citizens sought health services for reasons linked to drug use.
The data was revealed this morning (20), in Maputo, by the Secretary of State in the same city, Vicente Joaquim, during the Multisectoral Coordination Forum against the Consumption of Alcohol and Drugs in Schools in the Mozambican capital, an event that took place under the motto ''Mental disorders caused by drug use are treatable, avoid stigma''.
Joaquim argued that based on the figure, ways should be sought to recover and reinsert consumers of psychotropic substances into society.
“From the numbers presented here, we can conclude that we still have enormous challenges ahead. We need to create a society that offers opportunities for recovery and reintegration for those who struggle with addiction,” he said.
He added that “this is only possible by preventing and stopping the registration of new cases. We also need to strengthen access to adequate treatment services, guarantee the social and professional reintegration of these people, and combat discrimination in all its forms.”
He said that in this regard it is necessary to use an approach based on human rights, solidarity and respect for the dignity of each individual.
The source noted that the consumption of drugs contributes greatly to crime and the city of Maputo is not exempt from the phenomenon.
“The phenomenon of drug use has had a negative impact on the lives of people who use drugs throughout the country and the city of Maputo is not exempt from this reality. Drugs interfere with the elaboration of value judgments, making individuals who consume them more vulnerable to risk situations, such as sexual violence, unwanted pregnancy, and contamination by sexually transmitted diseases”, he argued.
He said that the increase in drug consumption among young people is linked to factors such as the large-scale circulation and consumption of alcohol, lack of dialogue and communication between parents and children, a fact that affects the significant growth of urban violence and crime. .
He urged society to “encourage healthy practices, as by doing so we will be strengthening the protection of our children against drugs, and contributing to a healthier and more responsible society”.
“Let us make our efforts available to promote a healthy and happy lifestyle and promote physical and mental well-being”, he appealed.
AIM
