CPS, MRU Conference: Discussing Drug and Substance Abuse

Partner organizations from Civil Peace Service, Mano River (CPS- MRU) convened a conference from October 28 to November 1, 2024, in Monrovia, Liberia under the theme, Working in Partnership to Combat Drugs and Substance Abuse in Liberia and Sierra Leone, to Build Resilient Communities in the Mano River Union.

One key activity during the conference was a panel and fishbowl discussion on drugs and substance abuse in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Panelists included representatives from the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency – LDEA, CPS Liberia, and Sierra Leone Networks. The panelists discussed facts, experiences, approaches, what can be done, and what has been done to help remedy the situation.

The Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, represented by Special Agent Grace Mulbah, is the head of prevention and community outreach services. She interacts with and holds outreach with the public. The LDEA head of prevention says the agency faces many challenges, from logistical to financial constraints and low budgetary allotment.

She noted that some importers of illicit drugs have infiltrated many communities, providing financial and educational support to young people, who then help the importers distribute drugs into their communities. On what can be done to prevent the use of illicit drugs and substances, the LDEA personnel said the agency is engaged in education and awareness in homes and communities. She called for the introduction of drug awareness education into the Liberian school curriculum.

On what the LDEA is doing to make Liberia drug-free, Agent Mulbah said the agency targets importation and supply and also goes after consumers of illicit drugs. “The agency in its engagements and outreach programs encourages people to abstain from drug use and abuse. Communities should seek professional advice and foster strong family relationships,” she told the MRU conference.  The LDEA head of prevention wants people to learn healthy coping life skills, noting that many young people who lack life skills turn to drugs.

Another panelist Francis Konyon, Program Officer of the Center for Justice and Peace Studies – CJPS is responsible for program planning, and supports resource mobilization and networking. Francis says the drug situation in Liberia is very serious and it is a call to action. “Liberia was not known for drugs, especially illicit drugs, but the civil war provided an opportunity for warring factions to introduce illicit drugs to their fighters as a way of motivating them into bravery.” says the CJPS Program Officer.

Quoting an unnamed source, Francis says, one of the easiest places to obtain drugs in Liberia is on some schools and university campuses. He also disclosed that many drug dealers are going into poor communities to recruit young graduates with no means to further their education. They provide educational support to them. In return, these young people serve as distributors. “One issue affecting the fight against illicit drug and substance abuse is the lack of trust between the community and law enforcement.” noting that whistle-blowers are often exposed by law enforcement agents.

Since declaring war on drugs, Francis says the Liberia government has shown no action in the fight against drug and substance abuse, noting that civil society organizations will be lobbying with the government to provide adequate funding to the LDEA. On what can be done to help solve the drug crisis in Liberia, Francis says everyone involved in the fight needs to be sincere about the drug situation; that the government needs to be true to what it says on paper; that CSOs need to be more engaged in the process, and agencies in the fight against drug should be given the rightful support to help the process.  

Madam Salamatu Conteh is the Advocacy Coordinator of Mankind Activities Development Accreditation Movement – MADAM a Civil Society Organization in Sierra Leone. The organization works with drug victims and returnees from the Middle East. Madam Conteh says, illicit drugs and substances are used by many people in social gatherings, as it is a kind of lifestyle.

“Illicit drug and substance abuse is a reality and we are living with it every day,” Salamatu says. She also says many young people involved in drugs and substance abuse are not deprived, noting that some are also well off. On what can be done to help fight drugs and substance abuse in the MRU, Salamatu says there should be strong sensitization and awareness on the danger of drugs and substance abuse; that governments need to be serious about declarations they make in the fight, calling on governments to also make use of existing Ebola structures left behind to rehabilitate drug users and hold people who are responsible for the drug trade accountable.

On what is being done by her organization in the fight against illicit drug, and substance abuse, Salamatu says MADAM is providing support to victims of drug and substance abuse through rehabilitation, provision of scholarships and skills training for drug users after rehabilitation, and the organization is also working on coping mechanisms to reintegrate drug users into their families.