A high‑level delegation of the ECOWAS Parliament fanned out across Conakry on Tuesday in a continued bid to spotlight substance abuse and mental‑health challenges plaguing West Africa’s youth.
Led by Hon. Fanta Condé, the mission spent day three of its regional sensitisation tour at three frontline institutions: the Psychiatric Unit of Donka University Hospital, the SAJED‑G Youth Rehabilitation Centre and Fraternité Médicale Guinée (FMG).
At Donka, head psychiatrist, Dr Denis Bernard Raiche warned that cannabis‑induced psychosis is rising at an alarming rate among young Guineans.
“We are treating more adolescents than ever before, yet resources remain thin,” he told lawmakers, urging tighter cross‑border cooperation to bolster specialist care across the 15‑nation bloc.
Hon. Condé, introducing the delegation, reiterated that the ECOWAS Parliament is “committed to defending human rights and coordinating a regional response to drug abuse, trafficking and the mental‑health crisis they fuel.”
The lawmakers then moved to SAJED‑G, where recovering users shared searing personal stories of addiction and rehabilitation. Staff said the visit served as “a morale boost” for both therapists and beneficiaries.
Discussions at FMG centred on workforce gaps. Administrators called for a new regional programme to train psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, noting that West Africa averages fewer than one mental‑health professional per 100,000 people.
Throughout the day, stakeholders drew a direct line between narcotics use and violent crime. “Roughly nine out of ten offences we document have a drug link,” an FMG counsellor told reporters, pressing for stronger law‑enforcement collaboration and community outreach.
The delegation wrapped up its programme with a media briefing and group photograph. The sensitisation mission continues today, 18 June, with courtesy calls on Guinea’s ministers of Health, Youth, Education and Foreign Affairs, as well as the President of the Transitional National Council.
