Nation building is a long lasting process where societies generationally work to achieve national well-being. Within this process, youth’s over all physical and mental health is very crucial. As a result, governments spend significant amounts from their budget in ensuring the health of their youth. Among many challenges, addiction is listed at the top. It affects youth’s overall health and in the bigger picture, the process of nation building.
According to one of the famous psychologist professor Thad A. Polk, “Addiction is a modern-day epidemic”. And its identity often lays within three characters; negative consequence, strong dependence and craving. If any substance has a negative impact on the overall health of the user, when the user is much dependent on the item and develops an extreme strong desire or urge of use, it is called an addiction.
Peer pressure is one of the most dominant causes of addition among youths; along with Psychological (curiosity, poor control, low self-esteem and so on) and biological factors (family history, biochemical factor, personality disorder and soon).
Addiction affects every aspect of life in youth. Academically, they show a decline in grades, absenteeism as well as a high potential for dropping out and others. In health and safety, they are in high risk of death through suicide, homicide, accidents and illness. There are also at risk of contracting various cancers and are prone to unsafe sexual practices, premature death and poor nutritional status of families. In the socio- economic part, family dysfunction, delinquency, financial losses and distress occurs.
Collectively, all those consequences determine the process of nation building. According to professor Thad A. Polk, it has massive damage in major sectors of countries, he elaborates this by using the situation in the United States of America as an example, “More than 500 people die every hour as a result of an addiction-related disease or an overdose, and addiction is estimated to cost the United States more than 600 billion dollars every year in health-care costs, lost productivity, and crime. Families are destroyed, careers are lost, and lives are wasted. And the problem is only getting worse.”
In Eritrea, culturally, addiction is a taboo. Any member of the society who is addicted to alcohol, cigarettes and other substances, is highly criticized and isolated. However, with globalization and worldwide threats, especially in urban areas some changes have occurred. In the century we live in, there is no youth that can escape from the impacts of social media or its products. As a result, to combat this epidemic various measures have been taken to ensure the safe passage of nation building.
Addiction is every nation’s greatest enemy. It is a great threat because it usually targets youths who are often described as the owners of life transforming energy. When youth is detained by addiction, productivity deteriorates exponentially. In return, government spending in health sector and others rises higher. Financial loses and social decay are among the prevailing crises.
Thus, Eritrea is a young nation with a revolutionary history. Despite numerous challenges with few available resources and high spirit of the people, it has been able to get its independence and maintain it. Knowing this history, we Eritrean youth must increase our awareness in this threat and fight it back so as to see the prosperous and glorious nation we all are working for, secure its tomorrow and realize its vision.
Written by Kidane Shmendi