Health experts: Families must get involved in fight against drug addiction

Health professionals in Nigeria say families have a critical role to play in the fight against drug addiction.

Kunle Adesina, managing director of Serenity Royale Hospital, who spoke on creating a drug-free society at the “Fly above the high conference” in Abuja, said it is important for the whole family to understand the disease of addiction.

Adesina said the family must also understand “why their loved ones did some of the things they did”, and take “care of deep-seated resentment”.

“Addiction affects every member of the family and so treatment should not only be focused on the sufferer but every member of the family, and the family members need therapy and intervention as much as the addict,” he said.

Speaking on the theme of the conference “a multidimensional approach to creating a drug-free society”, the medical doctor said the “effect of addiction is rarely limited to the person with the addiction but everyone around him or her is affected in some way”.

Adesina said a large body of evidence spanning several decades has documented that the children of parents who abuse alcohol, tobacco, and drugs are more likely to develop a variety of emotional, behavioural, physical, cognitive, academic, and social problems in the future.

“Parental substance abuse interrupts a child’s normal development, which places these youngsters at higher risk for emotional, physical and mental health problems,” he said.

Other health professionals who spoke at the event also agreed that families must be involved in getting rid of drug abuse in the country.

Those who spoke include Abubakar Salami, Sam Abah, Salamatu Farouq Yahaya and David Folaranmi.