Without a fix: K-P reiterates commitment to fight drug abuse

K-P has the highest prevalence of any drug use at 11%: report

PESHAWAR:

The ‘International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking’ was observed by Dost Welfare Foundation in Peshawar on Thursday as part of their extended role in the fight against drug abuse and raising public awareness about its perils.

To mark the day, gatherings were arranged in many parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), including prisons, day care and treatment centres. Speakers shed light on the alarming situation in K-P and the need to create a drug-free society.



Due to the region’s close proximity to Afghanistan – the largest grower of illegal poppy in the world with an estimated opiate market share of 60-70% – K-P has long had a steady flow of narcotics coming in.

A report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime titled ‘Drug Use in Pakistan 2013’ reveals that a considerable proportion of Pakistan’s population between the ages of 15 and 64 suffer from the devastating consequences of substance abuse. The report estimates that 6% of adults in Pakistan – or 6.7 million adults – used drugs in the previous year. Around 80% of the users were male and a majority of them fell in the 25 and 39 age bracket.

However, with approximately 4.25 million of these adults considered to be dependent users, treatment and specialist interventions are scarce and available to less than 30,000 users a year.

Vulnerability to HIV and other blood-borne diseases is also considerable, with 430,000 estimated to be injecting drug in the country – higher than any previous figures.

The report adds K-P has the highest prevalence of any drug use at 11%, whereas Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab reveal levels of 6.5%, 5.1% and 4.8% respectively.

Participants at the event urged all stakeholders to work together to devise special drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programmes to prevent the youth from falling victim to drug abuse.

With limited services available in the province for treatment and rehabilitation, participants added it is time to encourage public-private partnerships for the cause.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2014.