MTN Foundation has revealed it plans to educate 86,400 public secondary school students and 1,440 teachers in 12 states on the impact of substance abuse.
In his speech during the stakeholders‘ workshop on the implementation of the Anti-Substance Abuse Programme /Teachers Training held in Kaduna yesterday, MTN Foundation representative Abubakar Zubairu said that since the foundation launched the Anti-Substance Abuse Programme (ASAP) in 2019, it has educated millions of people on the dangers of drug abuse across the country.
Zubairu explained that the education of people was done through targeted campaigns and interventions in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
MTN Foundation noted that under the 2025 ASAP campaign activities, it advocates for walks across tertiary institutions in Abuja, Enugu, Lagos, and Kano, bringing together over 1,400 stakeholders for the fight against substance abuse.
The foundation said, “We encourage students to participate in our quiz competition; facilitate a stakeholders‘ workshop and a 3-day training for 60 secondary school teachers in Kaduna and Kwara; sensitise our communities through outreaches in collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)”
“We aim to educate 86,400 public secondary school students and 1,440 teachers, respectively, across 12 states on the impact of substance abuse – encourage them to participate in our quiz competition; facilitate a stakeholders‘ workshop and a 3-day training for 60 secondary school teachers in Kaduna and Kwara; sensitise our communities through outreaches in collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)”
“Our stakeholder convenings in Lagos and Abuja further strengthened our multi-sectoral partnerships in the fight against substance abuse.
“Another achievement is the partnership secured with the NDLEA on the 24/7 psycho- social support helpline – 08010203040 – project aimed at connecting Nigerians to professional psychologists for free counseling support services in various Nigerian languages.”
MTN Foundation added, “What success means to us at MTN Foundation would be the post training activities that would be carried out by the trained teachers through engagement and monitoring towards enabling sustained impact to be achieved with the students who we all expect to be advocates/ambassadors of this initiative.
“The teachers‘ training in Kaduna and Kwara states will certainly pave the way for a digital framework to be developed because the need to scale impact on this subject matter is pertinent. We trust that all concerned stakeholders will support this noble cause. Let‘s keep up this fight against illicit drug use as we work towards a drug-free nation,” the foundation said.
Credit: Leadership