WOMEN and children are increasingly turning to drug abuse in Africa, where the scourge is fuelled by war, poverty and crime, according to a UN report issued this week.
Drug abuse is on the rise across the continent, as illicit substances become cheaper and cheaper in a region which has traditionally served as a transit point for drugs from Latin America and Asia.
“Although Africa serves mainly as a transit point for smuggling heroin and cocaine, the falling prices of those substances in cities across sub-Saharan Africa have resulted in increased abuse of the substances,” said the report by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).
Civil war, poverty and crime and corruption are widely linked to the drug problems in the region, the report said, noting that weak administrative and inspection systems make drug abuse and smuggling easier.
The 80-page INCB report gives an annual overview of drug problems around the world, noting attempts to clampdown on drug production in Latin America and Asia, while abuse trends evolve in Europe and north America.
“In most countries in Africa abuse of drugs appears to be on the rise, especially the number of women and children abusing drugs is increasing and the age of people turning to drugs for the first time is falling,” it said.
“South Africa has the world’s highest prevalence of methaqualone (mandrax) abuse,” it noted. As well as abuse, trafficking is also spreading across the continent. Africa has traditionally served as a transit point for drugs, by air from Latin America and by sea to east Africa from Asia.
But the trends are changing, the report notes.
“Western African syndicates are actively looking for new connections in Latin America and are bringing cocaine trafficking to all parts of sub-Saharan Africa, notably in southern and western African countries.”
The continent is also a major producer of cannabis, notably in Morocco.
“Between 70-80% of the cannabis resin seized in Europe and one half of the cannabis resin seized worldwide are of Moroccan origin,” it said. Despite eradication efforts and significant seizures in some countries in Africa, the region remains a major supplier of cannabis, which also remains the continent’s mostly widely-abused drug. – AFP
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