{"id":131143,"date":"2024-11-18T19:43:17","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T19:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge"},"modified":"2024-11-18T20:33:25","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T20:33:25","slug":"heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge","title":{"rendered":"Heroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. <\/strong><\/span>Heroin addiction is destroying lives in Kenya, a country that has transitioned from being a mere transit route for illicit drugs to a significant destination market.<\/b><\/p>\n

The drug, which once only passed through Kenya on its way to Europe and America, is now increasingly being sold within the country, especially along its coastal regions, where addiction is rampant.<\/p>\n

On the island of Lamu, just off the Kenyan coast, a group of five men huddle in a ruined building. Among them is Mohamed Tai, a heroin user, who speaks openly about the grip of his addiction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a very bad addiction, but it is ignored by the community, government, and other organisations which think it is the will of the person to continue using. But it is small reasons that drive you to start using,\u201d Tai explains. \u201cIt puts you in a trance, and you don\u2019t understand yourself. Time flies, and you are just there. You don\u2019t think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kenya\u2019s battle with heroin addiction stems from its geographical location along what experts call the “Southern Route.”<\/p>\n

Wilunda notes that Kenya was once seen purely as a transit region, but remnants of the drugs now stay behind, fueling a growing local market.<\/p>\n

A Public Health Crisis<\/b><\/p>\n

Data from UNODC\u2019s most recent figures in 2019 estimate that there are about 27,000 heroin users in Kenya. With a hit costing as little as Ksh200 ($2), heroin use is spreading, particularly along the coast.<\/p>\n

In Lamu, addiction has become a significant public health issue. King Fahd Hospital has established a methadone clinic to help addicts wean off heroin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a very big challenge to us, and we have tried several means to combat the use of drugs, so we started to have the methadone clinic,\u201d says Aziza Shee Mubarak, a clinical officer at the hospital.<\/p>\n

Methadone has been a lifeline for recovering addicts like Bui Kitaa, who recalls the devastating impact addiction had on his life.<\/p>\n

UNODC estimates that around 22 tonnes of heroin move through the East African coast annually, with about 2.5 tonnes worth approximately $160 million destined for Kenya\u2019s local market.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Kenya Follow Africa-Press<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. Heroin addiction is destroying lives in Kenya, a country that has transitioned from being a mere transit route for illicit drugs to a significant destination market. The drug, which once only passed through Kenya on its way to Europe and America, is now increasingly being sold within the country, especially along its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":131142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[13586,1574,544,312],"class_list":["post-131143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-addiction","tag-drugs","tag-kenya","tag-william-ruto"],"yoast_head":"\nHeroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Heroin addiction is destroying lives in Kenya, a country that has transitioned from being a mere transit route for il ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Heroin addiction is destroying lives in Kenya, a country that has transitioned from being a mere transit route for il ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-18T19:43:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-18T20:33:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2024\/11\/sm_1731948884.49408.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"810\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"397\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Heroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-18T19:43:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-18T20:33:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge\"},\"wordCount\":369,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2024\/11\/sm_1731948884.49408.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"addiction\",\"Drugs\",\"Kenya\",\"William Ruto\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge\",\"name\":\"Heroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge - kenya\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2024\/11\/sm_1731948884.49408.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-18T19:43:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-18T20:33:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Heroin addiction is destroying lives in Kenya, a country that has transitioned from being a mere transit route for il ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2024\/11\/sm_1731948884.49408.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2024\/11\/sm_1731948884.49408.jpg\",\"width\":810,\"height\":397,\"caption\":\"Heroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Heroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/\",\"name\":\"kenya\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Heroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge - kenya","description":"Heroin addiction is destroying lives in Kenya, a country that has transitioned from being a mere transit route for il ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Heroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge","og_description":"Heroin addiction is destroying lives in Kenya, a country that has transitioned from being a mere transit route for il ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge","og_site_name":"kenya","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2024-11-18T19:43:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-11-18T20:33:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":810,"height":397,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2024\/11\/sm_1731948884.49408.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Heroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge","datePublished":"2024-11-18T19:43:17+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-18T20:33:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge"},"wordCount":369,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2024\/11\/sm_1731948884.49408.jpg","keywords":["addiction","Drugs","Kenya","William Ruto"],"articleSection":["all news","community"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge","name":"Heroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge - kenya","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2024\/11\/sm_1731948884.49408.jpg","datePublished":"2024-11-18T19:43:17+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-18T20:33:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Heroin addiction is destroying lives in Kenya, a country that has transitioned from being a mere transit route for il ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2024\/11\/sm_1731948884.49408.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2024\/11\/sm_1731948884.49408.jpg","width":810,"height":397,"caption":"Heroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/heroin-addiction-crisis-in-kenya-a-growing-challenge#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Heroin addiction crisis in Kenya: A growing challenge"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/","name":"kenya","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}