Extent of Heroin Use in Kenya

Abstract

Drug use around the world has been on the rise, in terms of both overall numbers and the proportion of the world’s population that uses drugs. In 2009, the estimated 210 million users represented 4.8 per cent of global population aged 15 64, compared with the estimated 269 million users in 2018, or 5.3 per cent of the population (UNODC, 2020). In Kenya, seizure and prevalence data shows that heroin is second most widely used narcotic drug after cannabis. Implementation of interventions on supply and demand reduction targeting heroin users has focused primarily on the traditionally known hotspots of Coast and Nairobi regions. However, given the dynamic nature of heroin trafficking, the problem of heroin use may be entrenched in other non-traditional counties. Towards understanding the landscape of heroin use in the country, NACADA conducted an assessment to establish whether there were any new emerging counties with the problem of heroin use. Suspected samples were collected in the 8 regions of Kenya stratified across 18 purposively sampled counties. They were submitted to the Government Chemist for analysis and identification.