- Eight in 10 Zimbabweans (79%) report that drug and substance abuse is widespread in their communities, including a majority (56%) who consider it to be “very widespread” (Figure 1). o Youth (82%) are more likely than older respondents (73%-78%) to identify drug abuse as a pervasive problem, while more educated respondents are 12-14 percentage points more likely than those with primary schooling or less to say the same (81%-83% vs. 69%) (Figure 2). o The perception of drug abuse as a far-reaching problem increases with lived poverty, ranging from 76% among the better-off to 82% among the poor. o More than nine in 10 respondents in urban areas (93%) say drug abuse is a pervasive problem, compared to seven in 10 (70%) in rural areas. Virtually all Harare residents (97%) agree, as do more than four-fifths of Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West residents (both 83%) (Figure 3).
- Zimbabweans say the most effective strategy for reducing the problem of drug abuse is arresting and imposing severe penalties on drug users or offenders (cited by 39% of respondents) (Figure 4.) o Nearly one-fourth think the authorities should educate citizens on the dangers of drug abuse (23%) or intensify efforts to reduce drug peddling (23%), while only one-tenth (11%) believe that providing mandatory rehabilitation services for drug users would be the most effective solution.
- Seven in 10 citizens say they trust schools (71%) and family members (69%) to effectively combat drug abuse in Zimbabwe. Lesser majorities place their trust in religious leaders (61%) and judges and magistrates (56%), while half (50%) look to the police (Figure 5).
An overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans say drug and substance abuse is widespread in their communities, a new Afrobarometer survey indicates.
Youth and urban respondents are especially likely to report that drug abuse is pervasive.
Arresting and imposing severe penalties on offenders is most widely seen as an effective strategy to curb drug and substance abuse, followed by educating citizens on the dangers of drug abuse and intensifying efforts to reduce drug peddling.
Most citizens say they trust schools and family members to play an effective role in combating drug abuse in Zimbabwe, while lesser majorities express confidence in religious leaders and judges and magistrates.
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