‘Form coalitions to fight drug use’
Two consultants from the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), Messrs Benoi Dagadu and Colber Prosper, have held a training programme on the formation of coalitions.
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The programme is to help in the campaign against drug use for some organisations at La Nkwantanang in the Madina municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
The training session was organised by the Philip Foundation Programme, a youth and social development non-governmental organisation (NGO). The Philip Foundation Programme is the local NGO implementing CADCA’s activities in the country.
Mr Benoi Dagadu told journalists that the CADCA’s vision was to save lives, particularly that of the youth, by helping them avoid the use of drugs.
He noted that CADCA’s presence in Ghana would lead to the formation of coalitions that would help to get the message to residents of the community, especially young people, on the need to appreciate the dangers of drug use at the early stages of their lives.
He indicated that through the coalition, people of diverse backgrounds in the community were trained to appreciate their collective roles in tackling issues like drug and substance abuse. Such coalitions included parents, representatives of the health and educational sectors, law enforcement agencies and NGOs, as well as business executives, the media and youth organisations.
Mr Dagadu said for the building of coalitions to be successful, people with the burning desire to volunteer their time and energy to bring change into their community in a positive way should be assembled.
He also said CADCA had been in existence since 1992 and had been working in 18 countries on five continents. In Africa, CADCA has started work in South Africa, Kenya, Cape Verde, Senegal and was now in Ghana.
He emphasised that CADCA extended its operation to Ghana to train people to form anti-drug coalitions in the communities to complement the work of state institutions involved in the campaign against drugs.
For his part, Mr Prosper said grassroot efforts were important to bring change into communities.
He announced that there were more than 5,000 anti-drug coalitions in the US alone and they had proven that bringing people together to share a common vision of bringing change into their communities had worked for CADCA.
Mr Prosper also said the coalition enabled talented people to come together to share ideas on seeing a better society where the youth would be discouraged from using drugs.
The Executive Director of the Philip Foundation Programme, Mr Boateng Mensah, warned that frustrated young people could easily be lured into drug use, hence the need for the coalitions.