- Drugs rank second, after cost of living, among the most important problems that Mauritians want their government to address, cited by 37% of respondents as one of their top three priorities (Figure 1).
- If the government could increase its spending on programmes to help young people, citizens’ second-highest priority for additional investment would be social services for youth, for example to improve health and prevent drug abuse (Figure 2).
- More than seven in 10 citizens (71%) say the government’s efforts to address the drug crisis in Mauritius have been “somewhat” or “very” ineffective. Two-thirds (66%) offer the same assessment of government rehabilitation programmes designed to help individuals recover from drug addiction (Figure 3).
- Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Mauritians say the government is primarily responsible for fighting the drug-abuse crisis in Mauritius, while 29% say parents or families must take the lead (Figure 4).
- In Afrobarometer’s previous survey, in 2022, Mauritians were divided in their views on the most effective strategy for reducing the problem of drug abuse in Mauritian society: 30% would prioritise educating youth on the dangers of drug abuse, 29% would intensify efforts to reduce drug trafficking, and 28% would impose severe penalties for drug users (Figure 5).
Mauritians rank drug abuse and addiction as the second-most important problem facing the country, a recent Afrobarometer survey shows. Only the cost of living outranks the drug problem among citizens’ priorities for government action.
Survey respondents indicate that if the government decided to increase its spending on programmes to help young people, social services to improve health and prevent drug abuse should be the second-highest priority for additional investment.
Majorities say the government’s rehabilitation programmes and other efforts to address the drug crisis have been ineffective. Most believe the fight against drug abuse falls mainly on the shoulders of government and – to a lesser extent – of parents and families.
In Afrobarometer’s previous survey in Mauritius, conducted in 2022, citizens indicated that the most effective strategies for reducing the problem of substance abuse would be to educate youth on the dangers of drugs, intensify efforts to reduce drug trafficking, and impose severe penalties for drug users.
In its 2021 National Survey Amongst People Who Use Drugs, the National Drug Secretariat found that 7.4% of the population aged 18-59 had used illicit drugs in the previous month. The ENACT Organised Crime Index for Africa ranks Mauritius No. 1 in the synthetic drug trade in the Southern African Development Community region and in the top 10 on the continent.