Substance abuse in the Ethiopian afar pastoral community

Substance abuse is one of the most threatening public health issues of contemporary society. Traditionally, it was considered as an urban problem despite its spread touching every corner of the globe including the pastoral communities. Against this background, the current study intended to examine the prevalence of substance abuse among the Afar pastoral community of Dubti district primarily to estimate the prevalence of the most frequently abused substances. To this end, a cross-sectional survey design that used a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods was employed. The study pointed out Khat, Cigarette, and Mada'a (a type of locally produced flavored tobacco) as the most commonly abused substances. Besides, it highlighted that concomitant use of substances (poly-drug use behavior) is a rapidly growing problem. Addressing such problems needs a consensus-based approach that recognizes the contribution of both abusers and non-users of substances together.