Even though cannabis remains by far the most consumed illicit substance in Africa, the real drug crisis that is developing on the continent is the widespread abuse of heroin, and by extension other dependence-producing opioids.

The latest red flag to be raised is in East Africa, where the latest report from United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Control (UNODC) warns that Uganda is facing a heroin crisis that threatens the country’s social fabric.

According to The Observer in Kampala, underworld drug production facilities are operating across East Africa and this has increased the flow of ‘narco-traffic’ through the region.

“The recent study findings on substance abuse in Africa published last year revealed that East Africa has one of the highest rates of substance abuse in the world, ranking Uganda the third with 65.6 per cent behind Ethiopia (68.7 per cent) and Mozambique at 76.7 per cent on the list of 10 nations with the worst per capita substance abuse.

According to the UN's World Drug Report 2024: “Cannabis remains the most sourced, trafficked, and used drug in Africa, but the continent is also increasingly a transit area for cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. These drugs have infiltrated local markets, exacerbating health challenges”.

Heroin is sourced from Afghanistan, Pakistan and India by syndicates who then move it through East Africa into western markets, taking advantage of the region’s weak enforcement, corruption among the elites and  ineffective border controls.

The UNOCD reports that lucrative secondary markets have developed within East Africa, driven largely by socio-economic factors such as high unemployment, poverty levels and social instability.

It reports that local drug markets in Africa are rapidly diversifying, shifting from a predominance of domestically sourced cannabis to a multitude of transiting drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and pharmaceutical opioids. This diversification is exacerbating existing health challenges, particularly as the availability of drug treatment services are limited in Africa.

The report concludes:  Africa is increasingly a key transit hub for drugs, with substances such as cocaine from Latin America, and heroin and methamphetamine from South-West Asia passing through on their way to Europe and other destinations. Over the past thirty years, criminal networks have expanded their operations in the region.

The organization says that “although East Africa member states have relevant institutions, policies and laws required to mitigate the supply and use of dangerous drugs, trafficking of similar illegal substances is on the rise, thus necessitating additional multi-stakeholder effort.

In Uganda, the prevalence of drug abuse among youths is 70.1 per cent, which is a lot higher than that of East Africa that is approximated at 45.5 per cent. This was according to a Kisenyi-based study that examined risk factors influencing drug abuse among the youths in the slummy area of Kampala district.

Uganda’s former police chief, Gen Kale Kayihura, has observed that “Uganda has since ceased to be a passage of expensive narcotic drugs and now a destination and serious user”.

His words appear to be backed by the findings of a recent joint study by Uganda’s Makerere University School of Public Health and Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital. The study revealed that substance abuse (both drugs and alcohol) is the leading cause of mental disorders affecting more than 15 million Ugandans, which is about three thirds of the population.

Gen Kayihura said dreams of forming an East African Community (EAC) will come to nothing unless individual countries “pulled together to wage war against the three deadly ‘narcotics – heroin, cocaine and marijuana” .