Liberia grapples with 47,917 At-risk youth

By Kruah Thompson

The Assistant Minister for Curative Services at the Ministry of Health and Head of the Technical Working Group for the At-Risk Youth Program, Dr. Gborbee G. Logan, discloses here that Liberia is grappling with 47,917 at-risk youth.

He says of this number, 83 percent represents males, while 17 percent represents females.

Making the disclosure Thursday, July 13, 2023, at the Ministry of Information weekly briefing in Monrovia, Dr. Logan explained that several mapping exercises were conducted across the country, including an assessment in 2022 on 13,244 At-risk youth identified in 396 different task forces from all 15 counties. 

“The report from this assessment revealed that 72% of first-time substance users were below 20 years old, with approximately sixty percent below 18”, Dr. Logan adds.

 He says report shows that majority of the problem lies with young people, particularly those within the adult age group. 

Dr. Logan reaffirms commitment of the Government of Liberia and partners to invest in drug-demand reduction in the country.

According to him, after President George Weah launched a US$13 million rehabilitation program in 2022 for drugs-addicted youth, a committee was established with the goal of assisting 500 individuals per year but reveals that recent weeks have shown an alarming increase in complaints from At-risk youth, particularly in Montserrado County.

Assistant Health Minister for Curative Services, Dr. Gborbee G. Logan

He adds that to address these concerns, the committee has developed implementation framework plans that will shortly go into effect to respond to those complaints from the counties. 

“The plans and guidelines will be presented to the steering committee for review, and implementation is expected to commence anytime soon”, he says, revealing that government has already allocated US$5,000 for this process.

The Assistant Minister notes that currently, there are 458 mental health clinicians in the country, including psychosocial officers, who have received training from Carter Center over the years, with additional ongoing specialized training programs in prevention, treatment, and recovery that have enrolled 104 participants.

He lauds the United States Government specifically, the Agency for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) for support to the program. 

Dr. Logan, who discloses that subsequent training phases are scheduled for August, September, and November respectively, defines At-risk youth as young individuals who have dropped out of school and reside in various challenging environments, such as ghettos, streets, graveyards, and abandoned buildings, engage in narcotics and substance abuse.