By Faith Anene, Kakamega

The growing threat of alcohol and substance abuse came into sharp focus in Mumias, Kakamega County, as hundreds of activists, campaigners and government officials took to the streets to raise concern over increasing exposure among young people.

The campaigners marched from Mwiboma Sports Ground to Mumias Cultural Centre during the Alcohol and Drugs Prevention Awareness Walk 2026, with stakeholders warning that children as young as six are being exposed to alcohol.

The walk was organised by Blue Cross Kenya in partnership with the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada), Kenya Economic Youth Network (Kinet), government officials and community organisations.

The campaign placed Kakamega’s response to alcohol abuse at the centre of discussions, with stakeholders calling for closer cooperation between the county government, national administration, families, communities and organisations involved in prevention and rehabilitation.

Nacada Kakamega coordinator Eunice Anubia said the Government could not win the fight against alcohol and drug abuse without community involvement.

“As Government, we cannot win this war on our own,” Anubia said.

She said Mumias was particularly important to Kakamega’s response because a rehabilitation facility had been earmarked in the area to provide treatment and recovery services to people affected by alcohol and substance dependence.

The Kakamega County Government has approved Sh56 million for an Alcohol and Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Centre in Mumias West Constituency, a development expected to expand access to treatment for residents battling addiction.

Anubia said Nacada had already procured equipment for the facility and expressed optimism that rehabilitation services would soon become available.

For families struggling to access treatment, the centre could provide a much-needed lifeline, particularly for those unable to travel long distances or afford services at private rehabilitation facilities.

Blue Cross Kenya director Ismael Shem urged county governments to invest more in rehabilitation, saying treatment should complement prevention and enforcement.

“Every county has a mandate to build a rehabilitation centre,” Shem said.

He said Blue Cross was using a 12-step programme and working with churches, religious leaders and community organisations to support people recovering from alcohol and substance dependence.

“This is your brother, this is your sister, this is your mother, it is your father,” Shem said, urging families to support people battling addiction rather than stigmatizing them.

The concerns raised in Mumias come against the backdrop of findings contained in Nacada’s 2022 National Survey on the Status of Drugs and Substance Use in Kenya.

The survey found that 23.8 per cent of people aged 15 to 65 in the Western region had consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days, compared with 11.8 per cent nationally.

The figure covers the wider Western region and should not be interpreted as a Kakamega County-specific prevalence rate.

Western also recorded relatively high consumption of traditional liquor and chang’aa, with prevalence reported at 12.9 per cent and 11.4 per cent respectively.

Nacada’s data also puts the minimum reported age of alcohol initiation nationally at seven years, highlighting concerns about early exposure.

Anubia said Nacada was conducting another national survey this year that would provide updated information on alcohol and drug use.

“We are anticipating to see that there is a change because of the number of interventions that we have been putting across,” she said.

She added that the Government was implementing a 100-day Rapid Results Initiative targeting alcohol and drug abuse.

In Kakamega, stakeholders said prevention must go hand in hand with effective enforcement of alcohol-control laws.

Anubia said Nacada had been engaging the Kakamega County Government over gaps in implementing alcohol-control regulations, including provisions governing the distance between alcohol outlets and learning institutions.

She said county and national authorities were working with education officials to identify schools located close to alcohol outlets and ensure that cases were properly documented.

According to Anubia, enforcement officers must establish accurate coordinates and follow due procedures because some cases eventually end up in court.

Kinet convener Elphas Were said the Mumias campaign was intended to take prevention messages directly to communities, particularly young people.

“We have many young people rushing into alcohol and substance abuse. We thought that today we could reach out with this sensitisation and prevention message,” Were said.

Mumias area Senior Chief Steven Erobba said illicit alcohol and drugs remained a major threat to young people.

“Those who engage in this illicit trade make a lot of money. Whenever we try to enforce the law, our people sometimes face danger,” Erobba said.

He said administrators and security agencies would continue working to disrupt the production and distribution of illicit alcohol despite the risks involved.

Local leaders also raised concerns about the area’s proximity to Uganda, saying the border could be exploited by traders involved in smuggling illicit alcohol and other substances.

Anubia urged residents to report illegal alcohol outlets and drug-related activities through Nacada’s toll-free number 1192.

She said the Mumias walk would be followed by the formation of a community working group to sustain prevention activities.

The campaign was part of coordinated alcohol and drug prevention activities in Kakamega, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Kiambu.

Stakeholders said tackling the crisis would require more than arrests and awareness campaigns, calling for a sustained combination of prevention, enforcement, rehabilitation and family support to protect young people from early exposure and help those already struggling with addiction.