Drug abuse among youth 3pc more than average, MPs told

Members of Parliament have raised concerns over the status of drug and substance abuse in the country after they heard that children as young as seven years are abusing drugs despite heightened campaigns against these vices.

The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) Chief Executive Officer Anthony Omerikwa told the Administration and Internal Security Committee that there is a growing concern over drug abuse in some parts of the country, but stated that the seven-year-olds have been rehabilitated after being exposed to it.

NACADA, however, said it is worrying to discover that such young children are exposed to or are using drugs and alcohol, regretting it as a big blow since it could lead to serious health complications.

“The youngest individual that we have that has been abusing drugs is a seven-year but we have rehabilitated the young man and he has now recovered,” he told the committee.

As he gave a breakdown of drug abuse cases in the country, Omerikwa said that the issue of drug abuse among Kenya’s youths must be dealt with urgently.

According to Omerikwa, consumption of drugs amongst the youths is 3 per cent above the national average, that is, among children aged between 15 and 24 years.

Similarly, he said that one in every 11 youths is using one type of alcohol or the other, with the 2024 survey on drug abuse showing that one in every 20 youths abuses both illicit and legit ones.

“In our recent report, consumption of drugs amongst the youths is 3 per cent above the national average, that is, among children aged between 15 and 24 years,” he explained.

The report has further shown that one in every two university students has ever used alcohol.

The situation, he said, is prevalent in public universities at 68.5 per cent compared to private universities, which recorded 31.5 per cent.

It further shows that the students were evenly distributed across the years of study, with 26.9 per cent first years, 24.3 per cent second years, 23.8 per cent third years, and 24.2 per cent in their fourth year and above.

“Over half (54.2 per cent) of the student population were male and 45.2 per cent were females, while 0.6 per cent did not state their sex,” he told the committee.

The study further shows that the conducive environment for drug abuse is because the surroundings around the universities and the neighbourhood were not drug-free spaces, as there is increased availability and accessibility of alcohol, tobacco, khat and cannabis.

NACADA regretted that a number of university students had reported easy access to alcohol and narcotics from the surrounding communities.

“There was evidence of involvement and use of university students in the supply,” he stated.

With the increase in drug abuse in the universities, the report shows that one in every 17 university students (5.8 per cent) had moderately severe depressive disorders, and another one in every 29 university students (3.5 per cent) had severe depressive disorders.

The report also shows that private universities had a slightly higher prevalence of moderately severe (6.2 per cent) and severe (3.8 per cent depressive disorders compared to students in public universities (5.5 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively.

“Results revealed that female students had a higher prevalence of moderately severe (6.4 per cent) and severe (4.1 per cent) depressive disorders compared to their male counterparts (5.2 per cent and 3.0 per cent respectively).”

Internal Security, Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo, told the Committee that the State Department has drafted a proposal addressing drug and substance abuse.

The proposal seeks to establish one rehabilitation centre in each county to support recovery efforts.