Drug addicts in Mombasa have lauded the government for its plans to distribute to them non reusable syringe and needle kits.
This comes a week after the arrival of eight million needles and syringes at the port of Mombasa, a move that has since attracted different reaction from the public.
Abdul Musa,an addict who has used heroine for the last seven years says this programme would be a life saver to many addicts since majority of them are unable to afford or access clean needles.
Musa who through sharing needles with other users has since contracted HIV/Aids blames his current status on inadequate accessibility to these equipment.
“If the government would have introduced these equipment in the past, then I would not have shared them with my friends”, he asserted.
According to Musa,his efforts to purchase the needles from pharmacies and small health centers bore no fruits since on many occasions he was told that the equipment were sold in large scale.
“How can I afford buying many needles when am forced to even steal to sustain my habit”, he said.
Musa revealed that whenever he craves for the drug, he goes to any length to quench it, adding that he even picks needles from dump sites.
Another heroine and cocaine user Mwanahamisi Aisha regrets that some people are against this programme that according to her will save lots of lives.
She says that although the programme appears ‘ugly’ and uncalled for, it will assist many people especially the youth not to contract the HIV virus.
Aisha who is also HIV positive explained that she has been involved in prostitution for the last 5 years to be able to afford the drugs.
“When I dropped out of school seven years ago, I thought it would be interesting using drugs only to find out later that it was an expensive venture without profit that I was getting into”, she says.
Aisha explains that although she regrets contracting the virus, she has infected many others in her quest to sustain her habit.
The mother of two reveals that she was introduced to drug use by a tourist she met at the beach.
Meanwhile, Dr.Fred Awiti, a consultant psychiatrist in Mombasa reiterated that the programme dabbed ‘Needle and Syringe Programme’ is meant to reduce the spread of blood borne infections such as HIV and hepatitis.
Awiti said this programme would provide a channel for addicts to be referred to health centers for medical assistance, HIV/AIDS education, condom distribution and other STIs.
“TB and Hepatitis screening as well as other primary medical services would be offered through this programme”, he said adding that crisis intervention, HIV testing and counseling would also be undertaken on site.
He termed this a worthy initiative saying that currently users risk other infections which could be as a result of piercing of the wrong spot on the vein.
“Options and opportunities are also available to these users since they are able to interact with professionals enabling them to make informed choices and behaviour change”, he said.
Other countries with success stories on this programme according to Sheikh Juma Ngao, the national Director NACADA, include America, Israel, Madagascar, Ukraine and Tanzania.
“It is noted that there has been no record of increase in the figures of infections in these countries after implementation of the programme”, he said adding that Kenya should learn from these countries to save its citizens.
The government has already set in place a National Technical Board and Country advisory board to assist in community sensitization and education that would ensure the public understands the significance of this programme.

Hassan Abdallah, a former drug injecting user who now works as an outreach officer at Muslim Education Welfare Association (MEWA).

Drug and substance abuse is not new in Africa. Some cultures in traditional African set up have unknowingly encouraged the use of drugs taken in different forms including opium weeds as painkiller and inhalation of smoke from burnt cannabis sativa (marijuana) as an aid to stop trance.
A 1986 Bull Narc study by Asuni T. states that apart from cannabis abuse in Northern and Southern Africa and khat (miraa) chewing in North Eastern Africa, the history of abuse in Africa is relatively short.
The same study observes that abuse of drugs in Africa is escalating rapidly from cannabis abuse to more dangerous drugs.
The controversial Needle and Syringes Programme (NSP) has become a major debate attracting different reactions from the public, a move that has since led to a series of round tables between health experts, members of the  professional elite and citizens all understanding  that this concept when effected, will be a major milestone in the country’s health sector.
The increase in drug and substance abuse -especially those injecting themselves has according to many health experts contributed to the increase of the HIV/AIDs pandemic in Sub-Saharan African countries, a scourge which has led the Kenyan government to develop a NSP intervention to assist in HIV prevalence decrease and prevention of new infections.
According to 2008 Mode of Transmission Study (MOT), in Kenya, there are approximately 50,000 People Who Inject themselves with Drugs (PWID) and they contribute to about 4% of all new HIV infections in Kenya annually.
Abdi Mohammed, an addict who has used heroine for the past seven years says this programme would be a life saver to many addicts who because of financial constraints and poverty are unable to access hygienic, safe syringes and needles.
The father of three, who through sharing needles with his friends has since tested HIV positive, now regrets that the move has come too late for him but he is happy that it is timely for those who have not been infected.
“My efforts to purchase needles from pharmacies and small health centers bore no fruits as I was required to buy in large scale, how could I even afford to buy that when feeding myself is a problem?”, he asked.
Mohammed revealed that whenever he craves for the drugs, he goes to any length to satisfy it even if it means ravaging through the dust bin to find a needle.
Another user, Rukia Rehema remembers how she was introduced to the habit five years ago with a foreign friend, Joanne, whom she says relocated back to the States.
“I started smoking cigarettes then later Joanne introduced me to bhang and white crest before I started injecting myself”, points out Rehema as she reveals all the wounds that she incurred while injecting herself.
Looking at her swollen, blood shot eyes, one can be mistaken to think that she has a critical eye condition but Rehema who laughs over it when I ask her how she acquired that, squints and tells me that as a sex worker, she meets different men every night, she continues to explain that on the previous night she had to engage in a physical fight with a man who refused to pay for her services.
“I couldn’t let him leave without paying, this is the money I use to buy heroine and cocaine, you know I can’t survive without these”, she reiterates as she impulsively turns away from the light streaming in from the window.
Rehema confesses that as much as she would like to be reformed, she lauds the government’s effort in NSP and says that this would be like accessing milk and honey in the biblical Promised Land, Canaan.
Rehema, a mother of two, explains how she once narrowly escaped death by a whisker when she missed her vein and injected directly into her flesh.
“I remember this day when I was really down financially and could not afford cocaine, I spent the whole day wriggling in pain, my vision was very poor and I was trembling despite the high temperatures, a situation that triggered my elder daughter to call a neighbour. Fortunately Amina, my neighbour also happens to be a ‘den’ member so she came with her syringe and I quickly grabbed it away from her and shot a wrong point”, says Rehema stretching her arm to show the permanent swelling she incurred.
According to Coast Provincial Director of Public Health and Sanitation Dr.Anisa Omar, a major part of achieving Vision 2030 goals is a healthy nation, free from preventable disease and illnesses; this she said would be achieved if more infections are prevented through distribution of needles.
“If we are to prevent new infections, then instruments and equipment must be made available to assist this process”, she said.
Dr.Fred Awiti, a consultant psychiatrist in Mombasa reiterates that the programme dubbed ‘Needle and Syringe’is meant to reduce the spread of blood borne infections including HIV and Hepatitis.
Awiti explains that the programme will provide a platform for drug addicts to be referred to health centers for medical assistance, HIV and AIDS education, voluntary testing and counseling and condom distribution.
NPS is an initiative between the government and stakeholders to distribute 8 million needles and syringes to PWIDs in the next one year, an initiative that will kick off in the next two months after the development of the policy paper and Medically Assisted Therapy (MAT) according to Most at Risk Population Programme Manager at Kenya National Aids and STIs Control Programme (NASCOP) Dr.Githuka George.
This programme, according to Dr.Awiti will be used to ensure that PWIDs are distributed with the kit which will contain a non reusable needle, syringe and alcohol swabs.
A 2012 HIV prevalence study by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) revealed that one in every five people who inject drug in Mombasa and Nairobi are living with HIV while over a third of these people have reused needles and syringes in the past six months.
As the NSP programme continues to be a delicate issue in many Kenyan households, countries such as Mauritius, Ukraine, Tanzania, Israel and Australia who have implemented the programme, are reaping its fruit as there has been reduced HIV infections, the core aim of the needle and syringe programme.