NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 17 – In a historic step toward strengthening the nation’s response to drug and substance abuse, the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) Board of Directors has officially validated the Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Guidelines.
The decision, reached during a board meeting led by Chairperson Stephen Mairori, marks the highest level of organisational commitment to demand-reduction strategies in Kenya to date.
The validated guidelines establish a comprehensive operational framework for decentralizing rehabilitation services to the grassroots level, where they are most needed.
With Kenya facing a significant treatment gap, only 135 accredited treatment and rehabilitation facilities with a combined capacity of 3,790 beds, the CBR framework offers a cost-effective, community-centred alternative that expands equitable access to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and social reintegration services.
According to NACADA’s National Survey, approximately 1.36 million Kenyans aged 15–65 have severe alcohol use disorder, while 887,627 suffer from severe tobacco use disorder.
Despite this substantial burden, many do not access formal treatment due to limited services, high costs, stigma, and shortages of trained addiction professionals.
The CBR guidelines directly address these barriers by integrating care into primary healthcare and existing community systems.
The framework outlines a continuum of care spanning prevention, early identification, screening, referral, treatment, recovery support, aftercare, relapse prevention, and social reintegration.
Key interventions include community outreach, low-intensity outpatient programs, intensive outpatient programs, medication-assisted treatment, peer support programs, sober living homes, harm reduction services, mobile treatment units, and faith-based programs.
A central feature of the guidelines is the establishment of Community Coordination Committees (CCCs), which will bring together health professionals, social workers, psychologists, Community Health Promoters, persons with lived experience, families, local administration, and faith-based organizations to coordinate and strengthen CBR services at the community level.
The guidelines also emphasize the role of Community Health Promoters in conducting screenings using validated tools and facilitating referrals.
The framework prioritizes vulnerable and underserved populations, including persons in commercial sex work, persons with disabilities, out-of-school children and youth, persons in contact with the criminal justice system, older persons, street-connected persons, refugees, and internally displaced persons.
It also promotes gender-responsive services, trauma-informed care, and the active involvement of families and caregivers throughout the recovery process.
Social reintegration is a cornerstone of the guidelines, encompassing stigma reduction, family reintegration, community reintegration, educational support, vocational training, employment support, and housing assistance.
The framework recognizes that recovery extends beyond clinical treatment to restoring dignity, functionality, and belonging within families and communities.
The guidelines also establish robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, including a standardized national curriculum for training CBR personnel, supervision and mentorship structures, and a comprehensive set of indicators to track programme performance and client outcomes.
Data collection tools will be aligned with national health information systems, including the Electronic Community Health Information System (eCHIS).
Ethical and human rights considerations are embedded throughout the framework, with provisions for informed consent, confidentiality, data protection, safeguarding, and protection from abuse and exploitation.
The guidelines also include strong conflict-of-interest provisions, prohibiting partnerships with the alcohol, tobacco, and other harmful substance industries.
The validation of the CBR Guidelines represents a fundamental shift in Kenya’s approach to substance use disorders, moving from institutionalized care to a community-based, recovery-oriented system that preserves human dignity and fosters sustainable development.
With the guidelines now validated, NACADA is expected to move into the implementation phase, partnering with county governments and community organizations to bring rehabilitation services closer to those who need them most.