Scale of Maldives drug use and addiction uncertain: UNICEF
26 Jun 2011, 11:44 PM
Neil Merrett
Many Maldivians are still failing to understand the difference between drug abuse and addiction, with the full scale of narcotics use in the country yet to come to light, UNICEF’s resident representative said today.
The comments by Zeba Tanvir Bukhari were made during the launch of a new toll-free helpline for local people and communities affected by the trade of illegal drugs in the country.
Speaking this morning at a ceremony at Dharubaaruge to unveil the hotline, alongside representatives from the Ministry of Health and Family and President Mohamed Nasheed, Bukhari said that EU-funded programme was designed to offer drug users support in trying to overcome addiction.
“The helpline will be able to tell if one has an addiction problem or not. Most people are not able to substantiate between abuse and addiction,” she said. “The information provided by the helpline will be highly effective for enabling many to recognise the symptoms [of addiction] in order to seek proper relief measures. It can help in referring people to an intervention programme for drug abuse and HIV/AIDs-related treatment, support and care.”
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