Campaign Against Drug Abuse and Misuse

With accessibility issues, inaccessible roads, it is difficult to control drug abuse/misuse in isolated, hard-to-reach rural communities. Prior to our arrival at Buraku Camp (one of the Fulani forest settlements) near Okuta community, any unqualified personnel could visit the forest with any drug of his choice. Since the villagers were uneducated, they would release their children for injections of any kind. Aisha was just one of the victims of this ugly situation. (Read the full story in HER STORY) . The village elders permitted this drug misuse because, according to them, substandard drugs were relatively cheaper. They believed that substandard therapies could help them save the cost of going to the hospital, which according to them, was more expensive.

Our team held several meetings with the community leaders about how to stop fake and substandard drug distributions within and around the community. We spent weeks sensitizing and emphasizing the need to start visiting standard hospitals instead of relying on substandard therapies. After several live sessions, health talks, one-on-one health education, the community unanimously stopped patronizing fake drug vendors and started visiting hospitals in the nearby towns. With strong collaborations, the fake drug vendors were banned from entering the community. Leveraging community engagement strategies, this intervention saved the community of over 2000 Fulani settlers from future drug-related problems.