Turkana county National Aids control council coordinator Bernard Mwaura and Turkana West senior assistant county commissioner Wycliffe Ayoyi have urged parents to take up their roles more seriously to curb vices in the society.
Speaking in Kakuma during a two day HIV/AIDS workshop, the two officers attributed the rising cases of drug abuse and alcoholism among teenager to failure by the parents to instill good morals values.
Mwaura also blamed the high consumption of alcohol among the youth for the spread of HIV/AIDS.
“Alcoholism among adolescents is a serious issue in the county. We are asking parents to be more involved in the lives of their children to counter the spread of HIV/AIDS,” said Mwaura.
While commending the efforts of the stakeholders that has seen HIV/AIDS prevalence in the county drop from 7.6 percent in 2013 to 3.2 percent in 2018 according to the 2018 HIV/AIDS estimates, Mwaura said a lot of progress could be recorded with more support from parents.
Mwaura said 23, 230 people in the county are living with HIV among them 1, 887 children between 0-14 years. “There were 556 new infections and 588 HIV related deaths,” Mwaura added.
According to Ayoyi, parents need to do more besides providing basic needs for their children.
“As parents, we must guide our children especially adolescents who are exposed to internet and a lot of information,” said the assistant county commissioner.
Ayoyi further directed chiefs to arrest people who sell illicit liquor and those who sell liquor to children.
The county security team has in the past one month embarked on a crackdown to get rid of illicit liquor in the county whereby scores of people have been arrested for selling and consuming the drinks.
Turkana central deputy county commissioner Alexander Mativo said the crackdown would continue until all patrons observed the Mututho laws.
“We are committed to ensure full compliance with the law and those found guilty will face the full force of the law,” Mativo said.
His sentiments were echoed by Turkana central OCPD David Mborokwa.
Mborokwa said the bar owners were aware of the hours they were supposed to be operating and thus those who violated the law did so knowingly.
According to Mututho laws, bars should operate from 5pm to 11 pm on weekdays and 2pm to 11 pm on weekends.
By Peter Gitonga
