I CHOOSE HEALTH ORGANIZATION, SOUTH SUDAN

By Jairo Reech AKol,

July 14, 2015(Nyamilepedia) — We came up with I CHOOSE HEALTH ORGANIZATION, SOUTH SUDAN to create public information and awareness among  young people because of the wide spread use and abuse of drugs and substances abuse which is a big problem in our country and in Africa as well, today.

In streets of major towns, young people have reverted to smoking cigarettes, cigars and Shisha (hashish).The situation is worst and something needs to be done nationwide. The biggest problem we have never started as a country is the war on Drugs and substances abuse. This particular war needs no guns or artillery. All it needs is public awareness and accurate information to eliminate myths and misconceptions about drugs.

Increased drugs use in a our country means increased in the spread of the deadly disease HIV/AIDS which will requires the government later to import ARVs drug from foreign countries since we don’t manufacture it here.  Human labor will be affected adversely since the young energetic people whom we believe can change this country would have smoked themselves out. Drugs and substance abuse can lead to rise in prostitution, students dropping out of school, domestic violence against women, both skin and lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, Hepatitis diseases, mental health problems, premature birth ,irritability, unhappiness and stress etc. Therefore, why do we create a situation which can be avoided?

Although the use and trafficking of illegal drugs is the major concerned, cigarettes and alcohol actually have more dramatic effects on our country’s overall health. Because they are abused by so many people, they contribute much more to the burden on our healthcare system than the relatively lesser used illegal drugs. The point is not to minimize how bad illegal drugs are for individuals and society but to sensitize all of us to the much larger health problems related to the legal use of cigarettes and alcohol.

Globally, an estimated 35.0 million [33.2–37.2 million] people were living with HIV in 2013, and 3.2 million [2.9–3.5 million] of these were children. The vast majority of people living with HIV are in low- and middle-income countries. An estimated 2.1 million [1.9–2.4 million] people were newly infected with the virus in 2013. An estimated 39 million people have died from AIDS-related causes so far, including 1.5 million [1.4–1.7 million] in 2013.

Drug abuse and addiction have been inextricably linked with HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic. The link has to do with heightened risk—both of contracting and transmitting HIV and of worsening its consequences.

Tobacco use is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. There are more than one billion smokers in the world.

Globally, use of tobacco products is increasing, although it is decreasing in high-income countries. Almost half of the world’s children breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke.

The epidemic is shifting to the developing world. More than 80% of the world’s smokers live in low- and middle-income countries.

Tobacco use kills 5.4 million people a year – an average of one person every six seconds – and accounts for one in 10 adult deaths worldwide.

Tobacco kills up to half of all users. It is a risk factor for six of the eight leading causes of deaths in the world.

Because there is a lag of several years between when people start using tobacco and when their health suffers, the epidemic of disease and death has just begun.100 million deaths were caused by tobacco in the 20th century. If current trends continue, there will be up to one billion deaths in the 21st century. Unchecked, tobacco-related deaths will increase to more than eight million a year by 2030, and 80% of those deaths will occur in the developing world.

Self-control is the ability to control one’s emotions, behavior and desires in the face of external demands in order to function in society. Self-control is essential in behavior to achieve goals and to avoid impulses and/or emotions that could prove to be negative.https://www.facebook.com/IchooseHealth.co.ke?fref=nf

The authors can be reached for comments at jairoreech@gmail.com

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