Female drug addicts in Tanzania

Up to 50,000 people living in Tanzania's largest city, Dar es Salaam, are drug users, according to the charity Medecins Du Monde.

They often fall into a downward spiral of addiction, illness and loss of work.

Many are heroin addicts who either inject ‘white crest’, a powdered form of heroin, or smoke ‘koktelis’, a mixture of cannabis, tobacco and heroin. One hit costs about $2.

Almost all the occupants of the city’s drug dens, often rooms in slums or hidden outdoor spots, are men. The stigma of drug addiction is worse for women in this traditional society.

Medecins Du Monde visits female addicts in their homes, where they usually take drugs, to give them advice on HIV, as well as soap, toothpaste and other essentials for their hygiene. Many of the women are sex workers, who live with their children and grandchildren and also receive clients in their homes. Two thirds of female drug users in Dar es Salaam are HIV positive.

Medecins Du Monde also set up a women’s only night on Wednesdays at its drop in centre. Women come for a meal, tea, shower, counselling and medical care, including tests for HIV and tuberculosis. They can get clean needles and be referred for methadone treatment. They also get advice from the charity’s legal officer about their rights when they come into contact with the police.