Story by Tapiwa Machemedze
TERTIARY students in Bindura have been roped in as peer educators to augment the role played by universities in mitigating the drug and substance abuse pandemic.
The Mashonaland Central Drug and Substance Abuse Committee has roped in tertiary institutions to help in the fight against the scourge of drugs.
Chairperson of the BUSE Drug and Substance Abuse Committee, Dr Lizzy Zinyemba said, “The problem of drug and substance is very rampant, and Universities have a role to play in trying to reduce the pandemic. Universities being the major stakeholder that accommodates youths, we must be on the forefront in terms of drug reduction. The only way to do that is by making students participate and getting into communities because we cannot solve problems alone as an institution.”
Bindura University students were equipped to train other students and engage the community under the seven drug and substance abuse reduction pillars adopted by the government in mitigating drug abuse.
“The training comes in the wake of a recent research paper conducted by UNICEF, in collaboration with government and other partners, which cited Mashonaland Central province as having the second highest cases of illicit drug use in the country.
