By; Mgandi Ngala
Reachout Centre Trust, an anti-drug abuse lobby in the country has appealed for support to enable it expand its outreach programs at the Coast.
Reachout Centre Trust Executive Director Taib Abdulrahman said that the organization cannot accommodate all those using drugs in the region and it needed more support.
Taib made the remarks after he joined recovering drug users at Mtongwe rehabilitation centre during an Iftar dinner on Thursday evening.
He said that the annual event was mainly to bring people who use drugs closer to counselors so that they can be helped out of the addiction.
Taib said that it is through support from well wishers that the organisation will be able to reach a bigger number of those using drugs so that they can be treated and reintegrated to the community.
“We need to embrace counseling, treatment and reintegration for people using drugs since discrimination and punishment have yielded nothing in the fight against drug abuse at the Coastal Kenya,” he added.
The renowned anti-drug activist in the country admitted that drug trafficking and abuse was a major global problem that required national and international interventions for it to be solved.
He also revealed that more women were indulging in drug abuse in the region.
“We only offer outreach services and outpatient treatment programs we do not have specific rehabilitation centers for female drug users,” he noted.
Taib urged the national government to work towards initiating public rehabilitations centers for male and female drug users at the Coast.
