Parents and all stakeholders have been urged to come up with possible solutions and ways of stemming the rising tide of substance abuse in Botswana.
Mrs Neo Masisi, the First Lady of the Republic of Botswana, hosted Mrs Muriel Zeender Berset, the spouse of the President of the Swiss Confederation, on the 7th February, 2023. As a result, the First Lady of Botswana organized a youth dialogue on the use of psychoactive drugs as part of one of her initiatives aimed at children, adolescents, and youth.
The First Lady highlighted the following in her speech:
On the 15th February 2018 Botswana held a graduation ceremony for the first cohort of locally trained Internationally Certified Addiction Professionals (ICAP) in the Universal Treatment Curriculum (UTC). The event was officiated by the then Minister of Health and Wellness Honourable Dorcas Makgatho, and graced by the United States of America Ambassador to Botswana, His Excellency Earl Miller as well as other delegates from both the Ministry of Health and Wellness, and the United States Embassy.
The other day I had a conversation with a colleague over engagement of former drug users in drug demand reduction (DDR). My submission was that such practice, even though done by many, is not evidence based as no study whatsoever has affirmed the success of such practice. A program that works for DDR is the one that uses interactive methods, have weekly structured sessions and is delivered by a trained professional and/or peer!
