Drug use related problems in Ethiopia with Tesfa YimerDrug use related problems in Ethiopia with Tesfa Yimer
Addiction Audio
Dr Tesfa Yimer talks with Dr Elle Wadsworth about substance use in Ethiopia, focusing on khat, alcohol, emerging drugs, and policy responses. The discussion outlines cultural influences, public health challenges, treatment limitations, and major research gaps across the country.
16:50•19 Jun 2026
Drug Use in Ethiopia: Culture, Khat and Emerging Risks with Dr Tesfa Yimer
Episode Overview
- Substance use patterns in Ethiopia are shaped by a large, diverse population and changing socio-economic conditions, leading to trends that differ from Western countries.
- Alcohol and khat are deeply embedded in cultural and religious practices, with khat use reaching around 40% in some eastern, largely Muslim regions.
- New concerns include Ethiopia’s growing role as a drug trafficking route, increased non-medical tramadol use among students, and rising injecting drug use in major cities.
- Substance use treatment is mostly limited to detoxification within mental health services, with significant gaps in comprehensive care and access outside large cities.
- There is strong tobacco control but weaker, poorly enforced regulation for alcohol and khat, alongside major research and surveillance gaps that limit effective policy-making.
“"Ethiopia has a different trend in substance use, including the chat that is not common in Europe or other western countries."”
What emotional and inspiring tales of recovery are out there? This conversation takes a different angle, shifting focus from individual stories to the bigger picture of drug use in Ethiopia and what it means for public health, treatment, and policy. The episode centres on Dr Tesfa Yimer, a postdoctoral researcher at the National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, as he talks with host Dr Elle Wadsworth about his paper on substance use related problems in Ethiopia.
He explains that Ethiopia’s huge, culturally diverse population and rapidly changing socio-economic conditions create "a unique trend in substance use related problems" that doesn’t quite match global patterns. You’ll hear about the main substances used in Ethiopia – alcohol (both traditional and commercial), tobacco, and especially khat (also called chat or jat).
Tesfa describes khat as a stimulant green leaf traditionally chewed by older people, particularly in Muslim communities, but notes that use is spreading: in some eastern, largely Muslim regions, "you will get as high as 40% of people using" it. The conversation then shifts to emerging concerns: drug trafficking through Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport, rising non-medical tramadol use among students to boost study and mood, and early signs of injecting drug use in major cities.
Treatment, he explains, is mostly limited to detoxification within overstretched mental health services, with very little comprehensive care for such a large population. Tesfa also highlights strong tobacco control policies contrasted with weaker, poorly enforced regulations for alcohol and khat, and he calls out major research gaps: very limited data on treatment outcomes, lived experience, and newer substances, plus a lack of dedicated national substance use surveys.
If you’re curious about how culture, religion, public health, and policy collide around drugs in a low-income country, this focused discussion might leave you asking: what kind of evidence and action would genuinely support people in Ethiopia who are affected by substance use?
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