Anti-drug activists in Mombasa and the entire Coast region have castigated remarks by politicians calling for a closure of anti-drug treatment centre in Freeretown, Mombasa.
The activist specifically pointed at Nyali Member of Parliament Mohammed Ali over his recent remarks that the Medically Assisted Therapy (MAT) clinic in Freeretown, Nyali Constituency, Mombasa should be immediately shut or transferred to another place.
The Methadone clinic, administers Methadone medicine used to treat heroin dependence. This liquid medicine is administered daily to relieve heroin withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings for heroin. The aim of Methadone maintenance treatment aims at reducing the urge for drug use in an individual and slowly the drug user is disentangled from the menace.
Speaking in Mombasa on Wednesday, anti-drug organisation Reachout Centre Trust Executive Director Taib Abdulrahman scolded politicians for making utterances without any cautionary measures or consideration, saying such reckless remarks are a catalyst of major setbacks to the gains attained in the fight against drug and substrance use disorders among coastal communities.
“We call on our political leaders to engage with us on how better we can offer such treatment to the affected people rather than ordering a closure of such critical facility that has positively impacted the fight against drug and substance abuse in the Coast region,” said Mr Taib.
He further noted that Lawmakers are very instrumental in benefiting the recovery drug users with jop opportunities so that they do not relapse into the menace, a role that they have either ignored or deliberately absconded.
“People using drugs come from as far as the south and north Coast to get their daily dose of Methadone treatment in that facility, this exercise is undertaken in the morning and in the evening by professional qualified medics, however we are not denying that there are challenges, but it is only prudent for such leaders to engage us so together we deliberate on how we can improve the treatment services. We need to treat, counsel and reintegrate people suffering from drugs and substance use disorders,” reiterated the Anti-drug Czar.
1,500
Since its inception, Freere Town Methadone clinic has treated over 1,500 people mostly youth who were once immersed into drugs but walked out of the menace and are now productive people within their families and the entire society.
“We cannot solve a problem by creating another one in a different place. If you tell us to shut down Freeretown Medically Assisted Therapy clinic, you are as well telling us to initiate a diferent one in an isolation, No, we need a sober dialogue among various stakeholders with the political leaders taking the lead role in creating proper drug treatment progressive policies that will reduce the harmful effects of drugs and HIV and AIDS,” he said.
During a recent forum graced by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Nyali Legislature Mohammed Ali called for an immediate closure of the Freeretown Methadone clinic citing its negative impact to the surrounding communities.
“Our children learning in the nearby Freeretown primary school are unsafe with such drug treatment cenre here. We want it closed down or transferred to some other places,” he said.
However, anti-drug activists from the Coast region and more specifically in Mombasa, where the drug treatment centre sits, immediately disapproved his sentiment terming the remarks as reckless and catastrophic in nature.