She said that many young people engage in using drugs for the curiosity to explore what is behind using them.
Mbabazi was speaking in a televised talk show on the national broadcaster, RBA, on Sunday. The talk show revolved around consequences of drugs and the state of drug abuse in Rwanda.
She said that youth top users of drugs as Police statistics point out.
“Drugs are a matter of concern at the international level and, in Rwanda, we are not an island that cannot be affected. The majority of users are youth as they are in ages where they have curiosities. Statistics from Police show that old people using them are 5,000 but youth between 18 and 35 years are 16,000, whereas those below 18 are around 3,000,” she said.
Mbabazi said that a research conducted in 2011 on 2,400 youth indicated that 52% tried to use drugs once in their life and can retry. According to the research, 4% of them were completely drug addicted.
“That is why Rwanda established the center for rehabilitation and restoration of those youth drug users,” she added.
Isaac Munyakazi, State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, said that drug abuse is an alarming matter among the youth.
“This is a matter of concern. Considering our vision for a knowledge-based economy, drugs are hampering the knowledge we provide to our youth,” he said.
Munyakazi said that Government is continuously imposing penalties against drug users, dealers and traffickers in order to fight the vice.
He added that any student found using drugs is immediately dismissed from school and sent to rehabilitation center so that they do not affect others.
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