In a bid to bring down the rate of substance abuse among the youth, MTN Ghana and the Narcotics Control Board on Thursday, June 20 embarked on an awareness creation and sensitization programme that focused on the negative effects of drugs.

The move which forms part of MTN’s 21 Days of Y’ello Care Challenge saw staff of the company visit interact with basic and senior high school students at Tema Manhean.

In an interaction with the press on the sidelines of the event, the Human Resource Executive of MTN Ghana, Amma Benneh Amponsah observed that students are easy target for drug peddlers hence the decision to take the campaign to the schools.

She explained that the sensitization drive will focus on communities where record show widespread abuse of drugs.

She indicated the preparedness of MTN to continue engaging the youth in the community to help them appreciate the adverse effect of drugs on their wellbeing.

“When we decide on a project for a particular year, we just don’t leave it after the 21 days. There is some continuous sustainable programmes that we support within the communities that we chose. The youth are the most affected by substance abuse currently”.

“Drug abuse is prevalent now and it is important that we target the at risk groups. We noticed the students here are within the age bracket that easily falls prey for drug abuse. So we want to tackle it at this age before it gets out of hand”.

“We pick programmes annually and focus on long terms that’s why we partner specific organizations and institutions. So the school represented here are school that we are going to partner in the long term. It’s not a one-off thing that you do for 21 day and then leave. We have other government bodies supporting us to ensure the sustainability of the project”, she said.

The Divisional Supervisor, Demand Reduction of Narcotics Control Board Juddy Mensah lauded the efforts of MTN for creating awareness about drug abuse and appealed to other stakeholders to help deal with what is fast becoming a menace.

Musician Kuami Eugene crowned the day with back-to-back performances of his hits songs