By: Mikas Hansen
The East African region has experienced a period of immense growth and development in the last ten years. Unfortunately, not all communities have benefitted to the same degree. A recent trip back to Nairobi, Kenya blew me away as the bustling, pot-holed, and integrated city I had once grown up in had developed into a paved, efficient, and organized metropolitan hub. I was excited for the nation and the progress it had made towards solving many of its historic political, medical, and economic issues. I was blinded by all of the positive influences that globalization had on the nation. However, a friend recently shared a YouTube documentary named “Zombies of Nairobi” which investigated the domestic drug scene and the reasons for its abuse. This documentary brought a point of realization to my initial outlook on the modernization of Kenya and inspired me to dig deeper and explore the underbelly of a city I once called home.
Though Kenya has managed to double its GDP in the past ten years, the main issue comes with economic inequality and the distribution of wealth across the population. The top 0.1% of the wealthiest individuals own more wealth than the next 99.9%. Furthermore, a massive influx of refugees from the Horn of Africa has even further increased the number of individuals living under the poverty line. As of 2016, 46% of the population lives under the poverty line, only 20% have access to medical coverage, and there is a 67% enrollment in primary education with illiteracy still rising. (“Kenya at a Glance”, 2016) The combination of these factors has led to a number of public health issues to arise, one of which being the abuse of vapor solvents.
Individuals who live under the poverty line, especially in developed cities such as Nairobi, tend to live in communities surrounding underdeveloped parts of the city. As portrayed in the YouTube documentary, one such community lives around a landfill, scavenging the landfill for resources to use personally or recycle for about $1 a day. However, not only are people living and interacting in such an unsanitary and potentially harmful environment, but the community’s livestock and water sources can also be impacted by it. Low economic stability and inadequate housing adds a lot of stress to the lives of many and drives them towards forms of escape. As described by a solvent user “When you use the medicine, you forget about the stress of being hungry.” (Fanpage.it, 2016) Scientifically the use of solvents results in hallucinogenic and memory blackouts, which is very harmful to the brain.
The most alarming aspect of solvent addiction is its prevalence amongst children. Because of its wide availability and popularity, many children with little understanding of consequence, begin using it as a result of social norms. This introduces addiction at a very young age which can propagate throughout their lives and result in an even more impoverished life with little opportunity for growth (due to the neurodegenerative properties of solvents). Though this sounds bleak, there are a growing number of public health initiates aimed at pulling children off the street by offering free shelter, food, and education. This has had a positive impact on the community as children have become willing to give up using solvents for a chance at achieving a different lifestyle.
As one of the solvent user’s states: “I sniff because of stress…when have no house, no place to sleep… what else will you do?” Many solvent addicts use the cheap drug as a means of escape from their everyday lives. The lack of basic needs such as shelter, food, and wealth add an unbelievable amount of stress to each individual’s life. Many have lost faith in the government and their ability to better their lives and resort to solvents to alleviate this pain. There are many initiatives, both foreign and local, which encourage both adults and children to give up their addiction in exchange for either food, shelter, or wealth (some programs offer all 3). Reaching out to children and new addicts would be beneficial in setting a precedent for the next generation and hopefully reducing the rate at which drug users is increasing.
References:
Education in Kenya. (2018). WENR. Retrieved 24 February 2018, from https://wenr.wes.org/2015/06/education-kenya
Fanpage.it. (2016). Zombies of Nairobi. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B_vZCLDs-M
Improving Health Care for Kenya’s Poor. (2018). World Bank. Retrieved 24 February 2018, from http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/10/28/improving-healthcare-for-kenyas-poor
Kenya at a Glance. (2016). Retrieved 24 February 2018, from https://www.unicef.org/kenya/overview_4616.html
Kenya: Extreme Inequality in Numbers. (2018). Retrieved 24 February 2018, from https://www.oxfam.org/en/even-it/kenya-extreme-inequality-numbers
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