Reachout Centre Trust programme coordinator Mohammed Swaleh during the stakeholder’s forum in Mombasa. [Photo/Maxwell Ngala].
The three-year programme geared towards helping recovering drug users at the Coast has positively assisted in treating and discouraging addicts from indulging in the menace, an anti-drug lobby has said.The harm reduction programme which was launched in 2015 will be coming to a close in December.The programme has led to a reduction in HIV/ AIDS prevalence among drug users as many of them have willingly embraced testing and counselling services.Speaking at their offices in Mombasa on Monday during a stakeholders’ forum, Reachout Centre Trust programme coordinator Mohammed Swaleh said the programme has so far reached over 2,000 drug users within Mombasa County.Swaleh said both male and female drug users have been assisted by their counsellors to overcome various challenges.“We have positively noted that most of the drug users are willing to quit this menace though they still need our help so to achieve their objective,” he said.Swaleh said HIV prevalence was high among drug users because many of them do not practice safety while injecting drugs and do not use protective measures while having sex.He, however, said that many of them are now aware of the importance of abstaining and as well and using condoms.“Many users have embraced the use of protective measures while having sex, as well as using clean needles and syringes while injecting drugs. This has tremendously reduced HIV/ AIDS prevalence among the drug users,” he added.Swaleh said the main aim of launching the global fund/ Red Cross harm reduction programme was to ensure drug users receive counselling and treatment.He said as the programmes comes to a close in December, the organisation will be looking forward to launching a well-expanded programme in 2018 that will directly benefit drug users from Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi and Lamu counties.He also appealed to the Mombasa County inspectorate, police officers, prisons, the health department, human right defenders and other various stakeholders to work closely with them in the fight against drug abuse in the Coast region.