The Minister of Youth Development and Empowerment, George Opare-Addo, has warned that drug abuse among young Ghanaians is becoming a national crisis, and has therefore urged families, government institutions and the youth to work together to confront the growing menace.

He said substance abuse should no longer be treated as an individual problem because its effects extended to families and society as a whole.

“The drug problem is not just a problem of an individual. Once it starts, it becomes the whole family’s problem. It becomes a national problem. It becomes a crisis for you and I to solve, and it endangers all of us,” he said.

Mr Opare-Addo made the remarks in Accra last Wednesday at the National Youth Forum, held on the theme: “A Sound Youth, A Sound Nation: Your Voice. Your Future. Our Ghana”.

The forum brought together young Ghanaians to voice their concerns and challenges, and to engage government on policies and interventions aimed at improving their prospects.

The minister said the government had taken up the responsibility of leading advocacy efforts against substance abuse, but stressed that the fight required collective action.

Mr Opare-Addo said young people also had a responsibility to take advantage of opportunities provided by the government, acquire relevant skills and develop the mindset required to contribute to national development.

Mr Opare-Addo said the ministry was committed to ensuring that youth policies were guided by evidence rather than assumptions.

He urged young people to tell the government where policies and programmes were failing and to identify the opportunities and support they needed from the government, the private sector and other institutions.

Mr Opare-Addo said young people were co-creators and authors of Ghana’s future, and therefore, their participation in policymaking should not be treated as an afterthought.

He said the forum should produce concrete actions rather than become another gathering where young people spoke, government officials applauded and photographs were taken.

“I want this conversation this afternoon to produce action. Tell us what is working. Be very frank with us. Don’t come and sugarcoat anything. Tell us what is not working,” he said.

He added that his ministry would listen to the proposals and act on those which were practical and in the national interest.

The Director-General of NACOC, Maxwell Obuba Mantey, used the forum to raise concerns about the evolving nature of illicit drugs and their potential impact on the health and future of young people.

Mr Mantey expressed concern over a substance he said was increasingly known among some young people as “Colus”.

He alleged that the substance could damage vital organs, including the intestines, kidneys and liver.

Mr Mantey said he was particularly worried about the possible penetration of the substance into secondary schools and universities.

He warned young people against experimenting with the substance, saying they might not know the chemicals used in its preparation.

“Colus is not something you should experiment with. You may know the name, your friends call it, but you don’t know the chemicals that is used in preparing it,” he said.He warned students against taking even a single taste of the substance, saying experimentation could lead to repeated use and damage their future.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Malik Basintale, also announced plans to partner with 24 secretariats and national service secretariats to implement a new programme for graduates.

He said the initiative, which would focus on corporate support, was expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks.

He said the figures showed the scale of the agency’s employment interventions, and indicated that more opportunities were being developed for young Ghanaians.

Mr Basintale said the YEA would continue working with the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment to expand employment opportunities for young people.