THE St Mary’s Cathedral Minor Basilica Bulawayo Arch-diocese conducted a march sponsored by ZB Bank to campaign against the scourge of drug and substance abuse in the city.
This comes after the church was informed about Ingutsheni Hospital being overwhelmed by mental patients victims of drug and substance abuse.
The march was conducted under the theme, Journeying together towards a free generation.
Speaking during the march, Archbishop Alex Thomas said they could not watch Zimbabwe’s hospitals being overwhelmed by drug abuse victims hence they took action to raise awareness against the scourge.
“Our Ingutsheni Hospital cannot accept any more drug addicts due to overwhelming numbers. A few days ago, there was a report that the hospital admits almost 200 new patients every month; because of that, it has to discharge people very quickly before they are rehabilitated,” Thomas said.
He called on communities to take part in fighting the menace.
“This is a very scary situation and we have to be serious about this situation. We cannot sit down and watch what is happening in the city. It is very easy to have such kinds of meetings but action is required,” he said.
Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution minister Judith Ncube said statistics from a research conducted by Unicef and other national institutions and agencies revealed that the city’s drug and substance intake was alarming.
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“Alcohol and cannabis ranked the highest in abuse at 61% and 67%, respectively nationally, here in Bulawayo, alcohol ranked 68%, cannabis 62%,” Ncube said.
She also revealed that 41% of the users were girls while 59% were boys with 46% of the consumption occurring in dealers' premises and 32% at friends' houses.
She called on stakeholders to join hands in fighting the menace in the city.
“It is my hope that these shocking statistics will direct all of us into action because the future of the country and that of our children is at stake. We need to join hands and tackle this challenge if we are to preserve our city, our province and the country,” Ncube said.
