Nairobi — Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says the government is considering providing National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cover to pay for the rehabilitation of alcohol and drug addicts.

Speaking during a consultative meeting on Tackling Alcoholism in Central Kenya, the DP indicated that the initiative will aid in tackling the vice.

"We have talked the governors to consider once we have mapped all the addicted persons using community health volunteers to give them NHIF covers that can take them to rehabilitation centers that cost Sh50-120,000," he said.

The five counties of Central Kenya Murang'a, Kiambu, Nyeri, Nyandarua, and Kirinyaga will be a model region, and the experience in fighting illicit alcohol and drugs will be replicated to other regions like South Rift, Coast, Mount Kenya East, Western, among others.

"To address the menace of illicit brew and substance abuse in our nation, we must all pull together in one direction to save our generation from perishing," he stated.

Gachagua pointed out that a multi-sectoral approach to this end brings an impetus to achieving positive results.

"In furtherance to various stakeholder meetings we have held over this subject matter, this afternoon, with the @ODPP_KE, National Government Administration Officers, and senior security chiefs from five counties of Central Kenya (former Central Province), we held a consultative meeting to address various challenges and issues to ensure this war is won," he revealed.

He also stated that President William Ruto is deeply concerned over the trajectory of illicit brews and drug abuse crises. "We shall stop at nothing to end it."