The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Suhum Constituency in the Eastern Region, Frank Asiedu Bekoe, has embarked on a street-to-street campaign against opioids and substance abuse among the youth in the area.
He said the rate at which the youth have been addicted to dangerous substances is alarming, warning that if the leaders of the country fail to show much concern in implementing immediate remedies to curb the menace, the future generation of the country will be in a sorry state.
According to the MP, he is looking forward to laying a proposal before Parliament when it resumes from recess to urge the Ghana Education Service (GES) to include a curriculum in the syllabus that educates schoolchildren on drug and substance abuse.
Mr. Asiedu expressed that taking such a key step in schools will prompt teachers to educate pupils about how drug abuse can be destructive to their future and render them irrelevant in society.
“Children are fast learners, and once they get to know the implications of these substances when they grow up, they will desist themselves from it and pay attention to their education and to become prominent people in the country,” he told the media.
The MP said the increasing spate of the menace should be seen as a national security concern, because those seen as future leaders of the country are now engaging in substance and drug abuse even before their teenage years.
He disclosed a disturbing development where six people from the same community in Suhum have died recently due to opioid and substance abuse, while the situation continues to escalate in the area.
He also suggested that while tackling this canker should involve tightening the borders to ensure these substances don’t get into the country, education is central to the campaign. Hence, his plan to make the proposal in Parliament.
“As a Member of Parliament, I can’t sit down and watch the youth in my constituency die and destroy their lives because I don’t know what the future holds for them, hence embarking on this important campaign to educate them to refrain from it,” he mentioned.
He pledged to continue the sensitisation exercise to help the youth realise that there is no glory in engaging in drug and substance abuse.
The campaign which saw its maiden takes place over the weekened in Suhum was supported by the Suhum Municipal Health Directorate, various security agencies, the local council of churches, Assembly Members, opinion leaders, and the Muslim community from Suhum and its surrounding areas.
