Gt. Accra Tops in Mental Case - Biostatistician

Statistics available at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital indicate that the Greater Accra Region tops the chart in drug abuse cases with the unemployed youth in the capital being the most involved.

This situation, if not controlled, would eventually grow out of proportion, creating problems for the government.

This was revealed to the Chronicle in an interview with the biostatistician of the hospital, Mr. Samuel Ashirifi, who was of the view that the urban areas are over- populated due to the migration of the youth in the rural areas to the cities in search of jobs.

He said when the dreams of these young people are not realized, they indulge in all kinds of activities, such as armed robbery and drug peddling.

Giving out detailed reports on the number of drug related cases recorded so far, Ashirifi indicated that as at last year, the hospital recorded 590 cases out of which 19 were female.

Breaking down the figures in relation to educational background, Ashirifi noted that first cycle institutions recorded 317 cases, second cycle institutions - 232, tertiary institutions - 15 and the uneducated - 26 cases.

Chronicle also gathered that mostly the drugs used by these victims were cannabis, popularly known as "wee," followed by alcohol and heroin.

Commenting on the seriousness of the situation, Ashirifi lamented, "If our children in primary and JSS levels should record the highest cases, then parents and the government should take a second look at where the country is heading to because most of these children involved are to be our future leaders."

He also maintained that since children learn from what they see happening around them, parents should set good examples for the younger ones to emulate at home, adding that the hospital on its part had organized series of drug related workshops at the secondary and primary schools to sensitize students against the use of harmful drugs.

Reacting to the records presented by the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, the deputy national coordinator responsible for organization and programmes of the National Youth Council (NYC), Mr. Abeka, confirmed that drug abuse cases had been an issue of great concern to the NYC for which a strategy is being mapped out to arrest the situation.

Also Abeka said the strategy would focus on the young people's strength, and their positive outlook, rather than the negative impact.

He said, "The increasing poverty, violent and hopeless situation in many of our communities today threatens young people's welfare and makes development opportunities scarcer for several reasons. Crime and violence, are negative examples, that affect young people's ability to participate in after school activities."

He appealed to government to help wage war on drug abuse by placing a ban on alcoholic beverages and drugs sold to minors in the country.