Interior Cabinet
Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has urged the people to stop treating drug use as a
crime but as a health issue.
He noted this during a meeting at the Eastern and Southern Africa Commission on Drugs ( ESACD) Fourth high-level consultation meeting and flagship report launch in Nairobi.
"We must move beyond traditional approaches rooted in criminalization, stigma, and exclusion, and pursue a more balanced, health-centered, and human rights-based approach that addresses the underlying social and economic drivers of drug use," he said
He attended the meeting on behalf of
President William Ruto.
Murkomen noted that a report by the
Commission, shows that the availability of drugs in our region has increased,
accompanied by a concerning rise in their potency.
He added that in order to deal with this
issue there is need for coordination between the government and the people.
"This
underscores the urgency of a coordinated, comprehensive, all-government and
all-society approach to an evolving and complex challenge," he noted.
‘’Sustainable solutions lie in reframing drug policy as both a public health and a development priority."
Also
present in the meeting were ESACD
Commissioners former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, former Mauritius President Cassam Uteem, Ondrej Simek, Deputy Head of the European Union delegation
in Kenya, Mark Shaw, the Director Global
Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime and Kenya’s former Chief
Justice Willy Mutunga.
The
National Policy for the Prevention, Management, and Control of Alcohol, Drug,
and Substance Abuse is anticipated to provide a cohesive framework to address
these challenges, safeguarding the health, safety, and well-being of Kenyans.
According
to Mombasa county commissioner Mohamed Nur highlighted that the policy will
bolster governments efforts in dealing with drug issue.
"This
policy will bolster government efforts to close loopholes in the regulation of
alcohol, drugs, and substance abuse," Nur said.
He said this during stakeholders' meeting with the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse on April 11, 2024.
