The number of patients due to drug and alcohol consumption recorded in Mozambique exceeded 15,000 in 2022, compared to more than 10,000 the previous year, according to the Central Office for the Prevention and Fight against Drugs (GCPCD).
“In 2022, we had 15,122 patients with mental behavioral disorders arising from consumption of psychoactive substances against 10,144 the previous year”, said Orlando Carlos, head of the GCPCD’s Public Education and Outreach Department.
Carlos was speaking at a press conference for the release of the GCPCD activities report. He said that the cases are related to people who sought medical attention in health units, leaving out situations not reported in hospitals.
The increase may also reflect a greater awareness of the Mozambican society about the diseases that drug use can cause in users, and the importance of seeking medical help. Orlando Carlos said that in 2022, 916 people with mental disorders related to the ingestion of psychoactive substances were reintegrated into their families, compared to 793 who returned home in 2021.
Nampula province recorded the highest number of patients related to drug consumption in 2022, 5,435, followed by Maputo city, with 2,272 and Manica, 2,111. Augusto Bambo, an inspector at the National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic), said at the press conference that Mozambique’s vast coastline and extensive and porous border make the country a “preferred” point for drug trafficking from Asia and Latin America for domestic consumption and supply to other countries.