Prevention and management Of fatal overdose
Opioid overdose is a growing public health problem in Kenya that can be easily averted through the use of naloxone, a safe and non-abusable substance. While opioid dependence is a treatable disease, it is a chronic disease for which relapse is part of the natural history. Preventing overdose allows people to continue their progress towards recovery and may enable them to seek out other life-saving services
The right to health is a fundamental human right guaranteed in the Constitution of Kenya. Article 43 (1) (a) of the Constitution provides that every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to health care services, including reproductive health care. Article 43 (2) also provides that a person shall not be denied emergency medical treatment. Overdose treatment is one such emergency that people who use drugs require. Overdose is a leading cause of avoidable death among people who inject drugs. However, it is difficult to accurately estimate the number of fatal opioid overdose in Kenya because of the poor quality or limited nature of mortality data available. VOCAL Kenya is taking lead in establishing data to challenge duty bearers to deliver services to the people.