Government receives GHC 500,000 to support Youth Anti-Substance Abuse Campaign

The Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment has received an amount of GHC 500,000 in support of the “Red means Stop” campaign, an initiative geared towards the mitigation of substance abuse by the youth of the country.

Donating the amount, the Chief Executive Officer of the RNAQ group and founder of RNAQ foundation, Mr. Richard Nii Armah Quaye, noted that he had decided to contribute to a worthy cause to help fight the drug abuse menace currently gaining popularity in the country.

He commended the Ministry for its effort in improving the lives of young people under the current minister’s leadership.  

He stated that as a young entrepreneur employing over 4,000 Ghanaian youth, with an average age of 26 years, he had a vested interest in youth development.

Mr Quaye stated that his experiences across Africa, particularly Sierra Leone, had shown how opioid abuse could affect young persons both mentally and physically, and eventually make them unfit for productive work.

On his path, the Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, Mr. George Opare Addo reflected on the role of young people in Ghana noting that the Ministry was strategically focusing on five pillars to help develop the youth with their Health and Wellbeing as the one of the main pillars for their development adding that no amount of development can be achieved when young people are not in the best state of mind.

He indicated that research was an important component of the fight against opioid abuse, noting that, if the right research is done, it would provide the opportunity for the Ministry to tackle the issue from its roots.

“You can address a problem midway through it, but you can address it properly when you have a proper understanding of what the root cause of the problem is,” he stated.

Priscilla Osei-Wusu Nimako, ISD