malvernmugadzikwa
Online Reporter
Delta Corporation Limited, in partnership with The Boost Fellowship, last month launched the Smart Drinking and Moderation Innovation Challenge to fight drug and substance abuse.
The initiative, which is running under the theme “Above the Influence”, was launched during a leadership boot camp held in Harare from April 14 to 17, and will run until December 2026.
The challenge seeks to raise awareness about the risks of drug and substance abuse among young people in Zimbabwe.
Speaking during the launch, Delta Corporation Limited corporate affairs general manager, Ms Patricia Murambinda, said the company was working with university innovation hubs to come up with effective models to fight drug and substance abuse.
“As a responsible business, we believe in the wellness of our consumers, we believe that when you drive you should not drink and that consumers should understand why and how alcohol should be consumed,” she said.
“We are investing in this programme to witness high-impact and scalable innovation solutions to address the problem.”
University students were tasked with developing innovative projects that will help in fighting drug, substance and alcohol abuse.
The projects are aligned to six thematic areas that include illicit drinking, drinking and driving, alcohol and pregnancy, binge drinking, underage drinking, as well as sugary drinks and health.
The teams will run awareness campaigns and roll out their innovative models to address drug and substance abuse in their respective tertiary institutions and communities for a maximum of eight months.
Their initiatives will be adjudicated in December 2024 at the Smart Drinking and Moderation Innovation Challenge Competition for further upscaling and investment.
According to a report from the World Health Organisation, approximately 12 percent of Zimbabwe’s adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years have engaged in heavy episodic drinking and abused different illegal substances.
Online Reporter