Sahara Group has said it is dedicating the month of February to a campaign against substance abuse, which claims the lives of 11.8 million each year.
Tagged #CleanLoveFeb, the focus of the campaign is to sensitise the public, particularly young people, to the dangers of substance abuse.
The campaign would involve various activities across Sahara Group’s locations in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In 2018, Sahara Group launched an initiative to shift the focus of Valentine’s Day from a one-day event to a month-long activity aimed at taking the celebration of love to the level of giving more attention to serious global issues.
According to the Head, Corporate Communications, Sahara Group, Bethel Obioma, the initiative commenced with the “GreenLove” campaign in February 2018. The focus then was on safeguarding the well-being of the planet earth that is home to almost 8 billion people.
“In 2019 we celebrated #PinkLove to increase cancer awareness. This February, Sahara Group is spreading “#CleanLoveFeb” all around the world, hoping that the message will connect with people caught in the web of substance abuse and above all, deliver an overwhelming zero tolerance narrative that will make living and staying clean a way of life for everyone,” a statement quoted him to have explained.
Obioma, said the energy giant would be working with Dr. Tunde Fadipe, a psychiatrist, to engage various stakeholders on the campaign and undertake school activations such as open conversations, essay and chess competitions.
Other activities include awareness walks, press and radio interviews as well as visits to rehabilitation centers.
“For us at Sahara Group, the #CleanLoveFeb campaign also represents a critical vehicle for beaming the searchlight on mental health issues that often emerge from substance abuse.
“We invite everyone to join us in promoting this noble cause by sharing our posts on the social media to ensure that the #CleanLove message gets to much more people, especially, young and impressionable individuals,” he added.
Speaking on the partnership with Sahara Group, Fadipe described Sahara’s global campaign against substance abuse as “timely and exemplary, seeing that we are all affected as relatives, friends, colleagues, teachers, or neighbour and the scourge is a major health concern all over the world.”
