Sustainable Development Under Threat From Drug Trafficking in West Africa
analysis By Leandre Banon
Drug
trafficking is fast becoming the most serious problem in West Africa.
The sub- region has seen an increase in drug trafficking, production and
consumption which continues to ruin many lives.
There has also been
an exponential increase in corruption and impunity which mainly favours
drug barons in the region. This also has an adverse effect on citizens
who possess or consume very little quantities of drugs.
As a whole, the
proliferation of the drug trade in West Africa significantly undermines
people's well being and possess a major road block to development
efforts.
The yearly value of
cocaine transiting through West Africa is estimated by the United
Nations to be US$ 1.25 billion, which is higher than the national
budgets of many West African countries including Liberia, Cape Verde ,
Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. This humongous amount which
are direct proceeds of drug trafficking, production and consumption
within the sub-region has a deadly effect on governance and sustainable
development .
According to West
Africa Commission Drugs (WACD) 2014 report, West Africa is not only a
transit zone of drugs from Latin America to Europe. Also, local
production of synthetic drugs such as, methamphetamine is increasingly
being produced in West Africa for the Asian market. Furthermore, in some
countries a strong protection economy for drug kingpins has emerged,
allowing them to operate with impunity.
Organised crime
syndicates exist at all levels of society in West Africa and pose a
threat to good governance, peace and stability, economic growth and
public health in West Africa, a region that has only recently emerged
from decades of violent conflict. Drug trafficking is becoming a new
threat for the "development" of West Africa.
Narcotics
narratives are often portrayed as a security issue with a focus more on
law enforcement through the criminal justice system without a deliberate
link to development. The response to drug issues is similar in West
Africa focusing on punishment with the aim of eradicating the supply of
illegal drugs and having a "drugs free world" which can best be
described as an illusion. The criminal justice response has failed.
According to
statistics, despite the hundreds of billions of dollars spent in trying
to eradicate illicit drugs, the industry is growing bigger than ever
with a continuous growing number of drug users each day. From the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2015, it is
estimated that a total of 246 million people, or 1 out of 20 people
between the ages of 15 and 64 years, used an illicit drug in 2013. That
represents an increase of 3 million over the previous year.
The current drug
policy control approaches being practiced in West Africa and beyond is
negatively affecting public health, economy, the rule of law, human
rights, gender and social development.
Drugs and Public health
The primary
objective of the international conventions is to protect the health and
welfare of mankind. Unfortunately, in practice, the drug free illusion
has led to so much focus on criminal justice, law enforcement, instead
of public health and the protection of human rights.
In West Africa, the
situation is becoming worst with public health being compromised with
an increase prevalence of HIV among people who use drugs and lack of
essential medicines for palliative care primarily for pain relief and
the treatment of cancer patients. Statistics from UNODC's 2013 report on
the world drug problem, states that the prevalence rate of cannabis use
in West and Central Africa combined (12.4%) is higher than Africa and
the global average, 7.5% and 3.9% respectively.
According to the
Ghana's Minister of Foreign affairs during her statement at 2016 United
General Assembly Specially Session (UNGASS) on drugs, " it is estimated
that nearly 90% of cancer and AIDS patients in Ghana cannot be treated
adequately on the current level of morphine supply". The current
shortage of morphine in the Ghana hospitals has affected treatment given
to the majority of cancer and AIDS patients.
The World Health
Organization, UNODC, and UNAIDS have developed a 'comprehensive package'
of harm reduction to reduce the risk of drug consumption related
diseases such as HIV, hepatitis C, tuberculosis, overdose among others.
These policy guidelines and programmes have been proven to be cost
effective and have been endorsed by the African Union in its Common
Africa Position (CAP) where AU called for the commitment to harm
reduction programmes, including facilitating access to health care in
prisons and promoting alternative non-custodial sentencing mechanisms
for minor non-violent drug-related offences.
Unfortunately, in
West Africa and Africa at large due to the repressive laws and related
law enforcement policies and practices these programmes are yet to take
full force. Currently, Senegal is the only country in West Africa
implementing a harm reduction programme even though the laws are still
very punitive. As a results less than 1% of people who inject drugs in
Africa have little access to needle and syringe programmes or opioid
substitution therapy
Unlike the visible
presence of HIV retro-viral treatment available in the sub-region,
hepatitis C remains a great threat in West Africa. The danger of
hepatitis C can be seen in potentially serious health problems for those
infected, with the possibility of liver failure, liver cancer, and
premature death.
In West Africa
when a drug user (who may be a problematic drug user (Addiction), as
described by WHO as a chronic disease) is arrested, per the current
regime, such a person has to be incarcerated if found guilty without
given the opportunity to seek help for his or her problematic drug use.
Over the years this approach of sending drug users to prison has only
exacerbated their problem because the prisons settings are often
characterized by overcrowding, inadequate ventilation and limited
medical facilities for treatment, all of which contribute to the spread
of diseases such as tuberculosis among prisoners. According to United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2015 the incidence
rates of tuberculosis in prisons could be 8-35 times higher than among
the general population for some countries. Combined infections of HIV
and tuberculosis are particularly serious, with each infection speeding
up the progress of the other.
Drugs and the Economy
West African
countries like their counterparts in the world tend to focus on
eradicating the supply with little attention to the demand side. Policy
makers have failed to appreciate that, demand drives supply. No matter
the stringent methods adopted, drug users will always discover new ways
of satisfying their cravings for drugs . An illustration of that is the
balloon effect which was the cause of stringent measures put in place by
the United States to impede drugs from Latina America to reach their
coast. This led to the opening of new routes through West Africa.
West Africa is now a
major hub in global drug trafficking. According to the UN, the yearly
value of cocaine transiting through West Africa is estimated by the UN
to be US$ 1.25 billion. For a region with a high rate of youth
unemployment, this could lead to the implosion of social cohesion and an
increase in crime.
In addition, this
huge money can easily mount rebellion or terrorism to overthrow
democratic elected government. For example, many analyses have been able
to establish an interconnection between terrorist threat in the
sub-region (precisely Mali) and drug trafficking.
Furthermore drug
market encourages money laundering affecting the formal economy, and in
turn discouraging investment in affected regions.
According to United
Nations Development Programme Report June 2015, on 'Addressing the
Development Dimensions of Drug Policy. "The existence of a large illicit
sector in the economy can also distort economic data and, in turn,
macroeconomic and structural analysis and policy making.
Drugs, Human Rights and Gender
Societal stigma
makes drug users vulnerable to abuse either from law enforcement or
related family and society as a whole. These violations include rape,
arbitrary detention, unfair trial, torture, ill-treatment, lack of
access to basic health care among others. Due to the harsh sentencing
policy and fear of being arrested or reported, drug users are
discouraged from seeking treatment and this exacerbates their situation.
Women, in
particular, appear to face barriers to treatment. According to United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2015 while one out
of three drug users globally is a woman, only one out of five drug users
in treatment is a woman. Women who inject drugs are often more
vulnerable to HIV than their male counterparts. In Senegal HIV among
Female Who Inject Drugs (21.1 percent) is three times higher than among
Male Who Inject Drugs (7.5 per cent). In Nigeria HIV among Female Who
Inject Drugs (21.0 per cent) is seven times higher than among Male Who
Inject Drugs (3.1 per cent).
In addition, women
who use drugs often fail to access harm reduction services - even when
those are available - because of the high stigma associated with their
use, and the lack of gender-sensitive services available to address
their specific needs.
Links to Sustainable Development
Drug issues cannot be considered separately from a development paradigm.
The international
drug control bodies, as well as West African countries, should shift
their drug control approach and try as much as possible to embrace a
holistic perspective of the issue in light of the debates that took
place at and around the UNGASS on drugs in 2016, as well as the
Sustainable Development Goals agreed upon in September 2015.
The measurement of
success should not be about the number of people arrested or kilogram of
drugs seized. The huge amount of money invested in law enforcement by
West African government to operate prisons could be realigned to
strengthen the health sector and fund development projects and
programmes to address the drug problem.
There is a need to
shift the objectives of drug policy away from process measures such as
crop eradication statistics, arrest rates, seizures and imprisonment
statistics. Governments need to explore and focus on solutions that
promote public health, human rights and citizen engagement and
participation. West African governments should integrate drug policy and
human development in their development programs.
Leandre Banon is Capacity Development Programme Officer of the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI).
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