President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appealed to Ghanaians to desist from stigmatizing persons with substance use disorder.
He said that doing so would only make the situations of such persons worse.
Substance use disorder is the constant use of drugs in spite of the harmful consequences of using such drugs.
President Akufo-Addo made the appeal in an address given on his behalf by the Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, at the commemoration of this year’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Accra on Monday.
This year’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was held on the theme “People First: Stop Stigma and Discrimination, Strengthen Prevention”.
“I appeal to all people to support those who have been identified as having a substance use disorder by giving them the care and encouragement they need to recover. To turn a blind eye to those in need only makes their situation worse,” President Akufo-Addo stated.
He also said it was imperative for the Ghanaian society to be intentional about integrating such persons into the society by raising awareness on the need to sensitise them on the need to avoid drug abuse and addiction.
“As a society, we must be deliberate to empower young people and communities to avoid drug abuse and addiction by providing them with alternative livelihood opportunities to assist them become productive for national growth,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo said the use of cannabis was reported to be very prevalent in West and Central Africa with a past year prevalence of usage of about 10 percent translating into 28.5 million individuals.
He therefore used the opportunity to commend stakeholders like the Narcotics Control Commission which was mandated to build rehabilitation centres for such persons and assured of government’s unflinching support.