Sbrana battles drug smuggling
Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday October 10, 2023 06:00
The revelation was made at the recently ended Fourth National Mental Health Pyscho-Social Support Forum (MHPSS) that was held here from Monday to Thursday.
The forum was held under the theme, 'Mental Health in Context'. When giving her presentation entitled, 'Achieving inclusive responses for persons with mental disabilities', Masego Lecha, Principal Social Worker II at Sbrana, who is also an Internationally Certified Addiction Professional, made a startling revelation that some family members of people with substance use disorders smuggle drugs into the facility to the patients.
This, Lecha explained, does not help in the addicts’ recovery process but plunges them into relapse. Lecha’s revelation spotlights a chronic problem for drug rehabilitation centres that struggle to keep drugs from creative, ingenious patients desperate for them. Responding to questions and comments during the forum, Lecha, just like some presenters who spoke before her, explained that drug addiction is very difficult to overcome because it is not an event but a process that takes time.
Her revelation is a cause for concern in Botswana which is battling a drug and substance abuse problem. Speaking during the Mascom Batanani Walk and Parents’ Dialogue on Drug Use in Francistown this year, First Lady Neo Masisi stated that drugs and substance abuse amongst youth aged 20 and 29 was very prevalent in the country. Masisi implored all who attended the two events to go out to their communities and spread the message of 'No to Drugs' and 'Drugs Destroy the Future'.
The First Lady also decried that drugs were easily accessible even to school-going children. She said challenges such as peer pressure, lack of parental support, and unstable families led young people to alcohol and drug use. Masisi added that in most cases, the youth started abusing drugs after being enticed into experimenting by dealers who advertise the substances as good and rewarding. She advised parents to be observant to spot character and behavioural changes in their children. Masisi said they should also be attentive to what their children were saying to establish if they were speaking under the influence of drugs. “Show that you care, greet your child, express your love to them, periodically check on them and spend time with them,” she said.
Masisi’s words echoed sentiments by a specialist psychiatrist at Sbrana, Dr Botho Pheto, who said in 2021, at least 231 patients were registered with the number shooting to 731 the following year. Speaking about the cycle of addiction, Pheto said it starts with induced happiness which would be short-lived as one becomes a periodic user before hitting the addiction stage. Withdrawal symptoms are both emotional and physical including anxiousness, anger, and becoming defensive.
Meanwhile, the forum also heard that Sbrana does not have sign language interpreters. The status quo, Lecha added, makes it difficult for the hospital to fully attend to the medical needs of people living with various mental health challenges or with disabilities (deaf and blind) who are brought to the facility.
To address the above problem, the forum resolved that service providers in various institutions and/or organisations should be trained in sign language.