The workshop, aimed at improving the skills of identified core drug prevention educators in Sierra Leone, and was held at the Civil Service Training College, Tower Hill. It started on Thursday August 22 and ended on Saturday August 24.

Public Relations Officer of National Law Enforcement Drug Agency, Abdul Kargbo informed AYV that since May 2018, the NDLEA cooperated with a monitoring mission led by the ECOWAS Drug Unit to assess the level of implementation of the ECOWAS Drug Plan (2016-2020) in Sierra Leone.

He added that their mandate, according to the National Drugs Control Act, 2008, is to control and prevent the abuse of narcotic drugs; implement the provisions of international drug control conventions and prevent other harmful effects of drug abuse.

“It is disturbing to realize that our schools are not free from the menace of substance and alcohol abuse including kush, marijuana, butter scotch, and hash and emerging trends indicate that these substances are grossly abused by students,” he said.

He maintained however that the training would be done in other ECOWAS countries in order to strengthen and increase human skills in the core element of sustainably preventing drug abuse problems.

The Principal Programme Officer and Programmer Coordinator of ECOWAS Drug Unit, Daniel Akwasi Amankwaah commended the European Union for funding the project and the support rendered to the sub region.

He emphasized the importance to remind everyone that illicit drugs trafficking, drug abuse and related organized crimes are disturbing the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.