MTN Foundation laments rising drug abuse among youths
The MTN Foundation has lamented rising situations of instruments and substance abuse among Nigerian youths, urging collective efforts to stem the tide.
The Foundation, which thru its Anti-Substance Abuse Programme (ASAP), held an advocacy stroll in Enugu aimed at elevating consciousness and combating drug abuse, insisted that the future became bleak with the rate at which youths engaged in medication.
MTN Foundation Supervisor to blame of formative years construction, Pamela Emordi, acknowledged that the advocacy stroll became one of many actions lined up to commemorate the 2025 World Drug Day and a broader campaign by the MTN Foundation to discourage first-time use and informal substance abuse nationwide.
She talked about the stroll, which became in collaboration with the Nationwide Drug Laws Enforcement Company (NDLEA), Civil Protection, Nationwide Childhood Carrier Corps contributors, college students among other key stakeholders became additionally to call attention to the dangers inherent in medication use.
She counseled the gargantuan turnout of formative years, other folks, lecturers and other stakeholders within the stroll, announcing it handiest mirrored the foundation’s deep dedication to building a drug-free society.
“At the MTN Foundation, we imagine that thru continued training, empowerment, and collaboration with key stakeholders, we'll have the selection to diagram a safer and more healthy atmosphere for our formative years.
“This advocacy stroll no longer handiest serves as a platform to raise consciousness nonetheless additionally as a call to action for all contributors of the community to affix hands within the fight against drug abuse,” she talked about.
Emordi famed that for the reason that initiative became launched in 2019, it had been waxing solid and through consistent advocacy messages, “we have faith helped reach over 91 million other folks; we have faith reached 27,000 college students, 450 lecturers at some level of 65 secondary colleges in 12 states.
“In 2024 thru the NDLEA’s 24/7 psychosocial inspire desk, we equipped counseling companies to about 4000 Nigerians. And this year, we diagram to educate over 86,000 college students with about 1500 lecturers at some level of one other 12 states. It’s going to be very impactful”.
The Enugu Whine commander of the NDLEA, Abel Suni Wadahi, who became represented by the Deputy Whine Commander to blame of Operations and Intelligence, John Ogah, talked about the essence of the walking wearing exercise became to inspire the parents, critically the youths to seize in sports actions and decide away from drug abuse.
He talked about, “We incorporate youths, most critically, the vulnerable boys, to deliver them to seize more in sports actions actions rather then medication. That’s why we’re doing patience lope this day so that they are going to seize with it and decide away from drug abuse”.
He decried the increasing diagram back of drug abuse in Enugu, and counseled MTN Foundation for the partnership to embark on the sensitisation in Enugu.
The NDLEA boss talked about, “Drug abuse is within the develop in Enugu Whine. That’s why we now determined to delve into participating in these campaigns against these medication
“For the length of our medicine integrity tests within the allege, we stumbled on that over 400,000 youths are animated into medication abuse in Enugu Whine”.
