27/08/2026
August 27, 2026
Message by:
By Aaron Fansieh-Debah
Founder: The OMEHPRO Movement
Prevention is Our Power: The Smart Way to Address Drugs in Liberia
Good evening everyone.
It is my singular pleasure to speak to you about the most effective, most cost-saving, and most humane way to fight drugs in Liberia: Substance Use Prevention.
For too long we believed prevention meant posters and slogans like "Just Say No." That era is over.
In the 1980s we used fear. In the 1990s we sent police to classrooms. Today, science tells us something different: real prevention changes communities, not just individuals.
So what is a modern Substance Use Prevention Program?
It is data-driven, community-driven, and evidence-based.
First, it strengthens what protects our children.
Strong families. Motivated students. Safe schools. Caring mentors. When we build these, drugs have less room to grow.
Second, it reduces what puts our children at risk.
Early trauma. Poverty. Easy access to drugs. Social isolation. A good prevention program goes to these root causes.
Third, it meets people where they are.
1. *Universal*: For all our schools and communities — radio, media, school clubs
2. *Selective*: For youth in high-risk areas — economically distressed neighborhoods, post-war communities
3. *Indicated*: For young people already showing early signs — so we intervene before addiction
This is not theory. This is proven.
Global data shows that every $1 spent on prevention saves $4 to $10 later in hospitals, prisons, and lost productivity.
Communities with strong prevention coalitions see over 30% reduction in youth drug use.
And beyond drugs, we see less crime, better grades, and healthier families.
In Liberia, the cost of doing nothing is too high. We are seeing broken homes, lost futures, and communities in pain.
But here is the good news: Prevention works.
It works when schools, police, churches, health workers, and parents speak with one voice.
It works when we change our environment — through policy, through education, through opportunity.
It works when we use radio, social media, and community meetings to shift the norm from "drugs are normal" to "our children deserve better."
At OMEHPRO, this is what we are doing. From Ganta to Monrovia, we are screening, educating, and building champions in schools and communities. Because we believe our youth deserve a future free from drugs.
My fellow Liberians, law enforcement alone cannot arrest our way out of this problem. Treatment alone cannot heal our way out.
We must prevent our way out.
Let us invest in prevention now. Let us build coalitions now. Let us save lives, save money, and save our nation now.
Because when we prevent substance use, we don’t just stop drugs.
We protect families. We protect schools. We protect the future of Liberia.
Thank you. God bless you, and God bless Mama Liberia.
World Health Organization (WHO)
Ministry of Health, Republic of Liberia
Amb Michael NA AA-Therapist
Africa CDC
U.S. Mission Nigeria
Amanda YG N
Embassy of Sweden in Monrovia
USAID Global Health
Emmanuel B. Dahn
