Out of the 590 cases of drug addition recorded in the Greater Accra Region last year, 317 involved students in first cycle institutions.
A total of 232 cases involved students in second cycle institutions, 15 cases were those from tertiary institutions while 26 cases were the uneducated. Out of the 560 cases 19 were female.
In the year 2000, the region recorded 535 cases, according to statistics available at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital. Mrs Angelina Baiden-Amissah, Member of Parliament for Shama, disclosed this at the Annual General Meeting of the Lady Pharmacists Association of Ghana (LAPAG). It was under the theme: "Fighting Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS - Together for a Healthier Youth Force".
According to her, the statistics provided had proved that the adolescents were the most affected. Most of the drugs used by these victims were cannabis (wee) followed by alcohol and heroin.
Mrs Amissah-Baiden pointed out that, students usually take in drugs to help them study for longer hours, whilst others take them in order to be bold to approach girls and engage in pre marital sex, thereby increasing the risk of HIV infection.
She said if children in the Primary and JSS levels recorded the highest cases, "then where in lies the future of this nation"? She also revealed that, AIDS was reported in Ghana in March 1986 and at the end of May 2001, a cumulative number of reported cases were 47,444, which represents 30 per cent of reported cases excluding non-reported ones, which were more than the reported cases.
The peak age group, she said, was 25-34 years accounting for 42.5 per cent of all AIDS cases reported, having 25-29 years mostly females and 30-34 years mostly males. She said 90 per cent of reported AIDS cases were aged between 15-49 years, whilst the highest proportion of cases among children was in the 0-4 year group and they were the unfortunate ones who contacted it from their mothers during pregnancy.
