Increase In Addiction Cases Reaching 81,072

According to the Ministry of Health, the Addiction Treatment Center has seen 81,072 cases seeking treatment over the past eight years. Al-Jarida Daily reported that Minister of Health Ahmed Al-Awadi provided these alarming statistics in response to a question from Representative Muhammad Al-Mahan.

In the period from 2015 to September of the current year, 81,072 patients sought treatment from the addiction center. In the first nine months of 2023 alone, the center opened 894 new files, provided treatment to 2,081 cases within its wards, and attended to 9,537 cases through outpatient clinics. It was revealed that 268 individuals lost their lives to addiction over the past eight years, emphasizing the grim reality.

In addressing the Ministry of Health's role in preventing youth drug abuse, Dr. Al-Awadi highlighted the process' integrative nature. Various state agencies collaborate with the Ministry, and the reconstituted Supreme National Committee for Combating Drugs is crucial.

For the year 2022, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior have been designated as its heads, with members comprising the Minister of Health, the Minister of Education, the Minister of Social Affairs and Community Development, the Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, and the Minister of Information and Culture.

From this structure emerged a subcommittee, the Committee for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Addicts. Members include the Minister of Health, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, the Chairman of the Bashaer Al-Khair Association, the General Director of the Addiction Hospital, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, and the Assistant Undersecretary for Criminal Security Affairs and Correctional Institutions at the Ministry of Interior.

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