The ECOWAS Parliament has initiated a five-day awareness campaign, focusing on drug abuse and mental health, from August 4 to August 8, 2025.

The mission, launched in Monrovia, Liberia, follows similar efforts in Guinea and Sierra Leone in June, earlier this year, seeks to address the growing challenges of substance abuse and related mental health issues within the West African region.

A delegation of ECOWAS parliamentarians and staff is engaging with various national stakeholders, including government ministers, health professionals, youth, civil society organisations, and local authorities. As part of their activities, the delegation will also visit local treatment centres.

On the first day of the campaign, discussions were held with several Liberian ministerial authorities, including those from Foreign Affairs, Health, Education, Gender, Children and Social Protection, Youth and Sports, and the Mayor of Monrovia.

These discussions underscored the public health and socio-economic dangers of drug abuse. Participants reaffirmed their dedication to combating drug trafficking and reinforced their commitment to a three-part strategy of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation.

A key point of the discussion was the importance of creating employment opportunities for youth as a means of deterring drug addiction. This campaign aligns with the broader ECOWAS goal of fostering a resilient community that prioritises the welfare of its young population.

From “Kush” in West Africa to “White Pipe” and “Whoonga” (also known as “Nyaope”) from Southern Africa, the rising trend of psychoactive drug use aligns with a projection from Emerald Insights, indicating a global move towards poly-drug consumption.

The ECOWAS Commission had earlier voiced strong concerns about emerging and increasingly prevalent drugs across Africa.

The West African Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (WENDU) further reported in 2024 on the devastating impact of the new drug, “Kush,” particularly in Sierra Leone, where it is estimated to cause a dozen deaths weekly and hospitalise thousands.

This emerging drug has been seized extensively in The Gambia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, with reports of its presence also in Guinea and Liberia, countries bordering Sierra Leone. A disturbing trend indicates increased use of these new substances, particularly “Kush,” among young people, including those in secondary schools.

ECOWAS emphasised the urgent need for a regional response and preventive measures to halt the spread of poly drugs such as “Kush” due to its rapid proliferation and significant threat to the entire West African region.

During the “2023 WENDU Report: Statistics and Trends on Illicit Drug Supply and Drug Use” presentation in Freetown, Sierra Leone, earlier in 2024, Mr. Gerald Hatler, First Counsellor and Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Sierra Leone, lamented the severe threat substance abuse poses to global workforces, underscoring the importance of evidence-based analysis for effective prevention.

Aligning with this, Andrew Jail Kaikai, Executive Director of Sierra Leone’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, called for continued action in the fight for a drug-free West Africa.

To combat this epidemic, the WENDU Report recommended a multi-pronged approach. This includes developing interventions to reduce both drug supply and demand and intensifying drug abuse prevention awareness campaigns.

Other efforts in the approach are: establishing more rehabilitation centres for addiction, conducting large-scale national epidemiological studies on drug abuse, funding research and sustainable demand reduction capacities, and strengthening law enforcement.