NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 26— Nearly one in every three people in Kenya’s Coast region is using at least one drug or substance of abuse, making the region the country’s most affected by addiction, according to new figures released as the government intensified its campaign against narcotics on the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

📻 Breaking It Down

Data from the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) shows that 29.3 per cent of Coast residents aged between 15 and 65 use at least one drug or substance of abuse, well above the national average.

Mombasa County carries the heaviest burden, recording a prevalence rate of 34.4 per cent, the highest in the country.

The figures form part of a broader national crisis in which an estimated 4.7 million Kenyans, or roughly one in six people within the same age bracket, are using drugs or other addictive substances.

📌 What You Need to Know

The alarming statistics dominated this year’s national commemoration of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (IDADA), held at the Miritini Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre in Mombasa under the theme, “World Drug Problem: Persisting Issues, New Challenges, Innovative Responses.”

Speaking during the event, Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration Raymond Omollo warned that the country’s drug problem extends far beyond statistics.

“These are not just numbers. They represent our children, our brothers and sisters, our colleagues and our future workforce. Behind every figure is a life that can either be lost to addiction or restored through timely intervention and support,” he said.

Omollo said the government is pursuing a comprehensive strategy that combines law enforcement with prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and the reintegration of recovering addicts into society.

“While enforcement remains critical, it is only one part of the solution. Sustainable success can only be achieved through a balanced approach that prioritises prevention, early intervention, treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration,” he said.

The government pointed to recent successes in disrupting international drug trafficking networks, including the seizure of 1,024 kilograms of 98 per cent pure crystal methamphetamine valued at approximately Sh8.2 billion in the Indian Ocean, describing it as evidence of intensified efforts to dismantle organised criminal syndicates.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya