As the world commemorates International Youth Day, Ghana has unveiled a bold step in the fight against the growing threat of opioid abuse among young people. The Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, in partnership with the RNAQ Foundation, has committed GHS 500,000 to fund a nationwide research initiative aimed at uncovering the root causes of the crisis.
At a presentation ceremony, Youth Minister George Opare Addo highlighted the scale of the challenge, noting that the underlying factors behind the surge in opioid misuse remain unclear. He explained that the newly commissioned national report will expand the scope of research to cover all 16 regions of Ghana, providing a deeper understanding of the issue.
“It’ll go a long way because the research alone is costing us about 400,000, and so I believe strongly that the 500,000 is more than enough to pay for the research. What we intend to do is to expand the scope of the work we’ve given to the research group. This was a bit limited in scope because we were not funded. But now that organizations like RNAQ have come on board, it gives us a much bigger space to do more things. And so we’ll expand the scope. He’s researching in all 16 regions, we can make him increase the sample size so that we get a better understanding of the problem,” the Minister said.
Richard Nii Armah Quaye, CEO of RNAQ Foundation, described the situation as a “national canker” and stressed his commitment to partnering with the Ministry to address the crisis.
“I have seen what is happening. In fact, I am a pan-Africanist and a multinational businessman as well. I have business interests in most African countries. So I could see from experience how the abuse of opioids and drug abuse is affecting a lot of youth in some African countries, especially Sierra Leone,” he said.
I think that our country is also on the path of taking the same trajectory, and this is something that we cannot sit aside unconcerned. I think that is a national threat to all of us. The youth of this country is our goldmine. The economic fortunes of our country depend on the youth as well. So it is very important that we take a significant and important look at this situation. And so we have come here to do a presentation of 500,000 to the Ministry today. This is actually to show our commitment and support to the Ministry in the fight against opioid abuse and rape,” he added.
The campaign, themed “Red Means Stop,” is already underway, focusing on advocacy and preventive measures to safeguard Ghana’s youth. With expanded research now covering every region, authorities are optimistic that the findings will inform stronger national interventions to curb opioid addiction and protect the country’s future.
