Drug abuse amongst teenagers and youths especially, continues to evolve into a grave situation in Nigeria and
across the world as well. According to a report in 2017 by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime
(UNODC,) an estimated 14% of the Nigerian population from the age of fifteen years had used drugs. These
drugs mainly included tramadol, codeine, and cough syrups. Situation reports like this are highly distressing.
The hazards of drug abuse are overwhelming; they manifest in various forms damaging the physical,
emotional and psychological wellbeing of the abusers. Although the detriments of abusing drugs might be
slow at first, eventually, the overall effect is greatly severe and even life threatening.
At HENA, we are presently very concerned with instilling facts about how detrimental the abuse of drugs is to
one’s life; therefore we are launching the STITCH IN TIME (SIT) CAMPAIGN.
It is established fact that if you wish to truly ward off an unwanted event, you must address it at its earliest
stage possible. This is why the SIT Campaign is targeted at youngsters spread across high schools in Nigeria,
hence its name “Stitch in Time.” We want to reach these ones while they are still very young and most likely
not involved in the act, expose them to the truth, and do all feasible to prevent them from indulging abuse of
drugs.
The SIT campaign will focus on the causes, hazards and eradication of the abuse of drugs such as Tramadol,
Codeine, Marijuana and Cocaine etc.
In each chosen secondary school, the students would be given a thorough exposition by a medical facilitator
on the target subject; delivered with relevant PowerPoint, charts and pictures via a projector.
To further buttress the campaign, jotters with concise information and graphics on the hazards of drug abuse
would be shared amongst the students and staff. Also, a sizable banner with detailed diagram and information
on the hazards of drug abuse will be given to each school to hang at a strategic point so as to create a lasting
reminder and effect on the youngsters.
We are taking a stand against drug abuse and we’re doing so via precise actions: we welcome well-meaning
persons, firms, organizations etc., to also join us in the SIT campaign. Together, we can achieve much more.