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The latest World Drug Report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reveals that Methamphetamine (also known as Tik) Trafficking is on the increase in Africa.
Seizures of the drug were reported by 26 countries in the region from 2011 to 2021, almost triple the number in the period 2000 to 2010 and accounting for almost half of all the countries in Africa.
The overall largest aggregated quantities of methamphetamine seized in the region over the past decade were in Mozambique and South Africa, followed by Nigeria,” the report states.
Tik has been one of the most abused substances in the Western Cape, particularly for several years.
The Western Cape Department of Social Development has allocated R108.8 million to its Substance Abuse, Prevention, and Rehabilitation programme in the 2023/2024 financial year.
This includes subsidies to 6 in-patient treatment centers in the province, which provide treatment for both adults and youth between the ages of 13-18 years of age.
Total bed spaces are 671.
Provincial Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez, visited one the Toevlug Centre in Worcester on Monday.
Toevlug Centre has a multidisciplinary staff complement, which includes registered nurses, social workers, and an occupational therapist amongst others, that provide in-patient and outpatient treatment programmes to adults and youth, as well as a community program.
Centre manager, Theresa Rossouw, highlighted there has been an increase in the number of patients requiring subsidised beds, while the number of private and medical aid patients was low.
One patient who is three weeks into the 5-week programme said: “I never knew I’d be able to say I’m clean. This is the first birthday my mother has celebrated since 2008 when her son is sober."
Western Cape Provincial Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez said:
“I am inspired by the stories of hope and perseverance shared by these clients.
"They are proof that with a little bit of kindness and human connection, a lot of determination, and qualified professionals, people can change."
