Pubdate: Sat, 08 Aug 2009
Source: Yemen Observer (Yemen)
Page: Front Page
Copyright: 2009 Yemen Observer
Contact:  http://www.yobserver.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3136
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

YEMEN ESTABLISHES FIRST ADDICTION REHABILITATION CENTER

YEMEN - The Ministry of Health and Population is preparing to build a 
special center for treating psychological illnesses and drug 
addictions, the first of its kind in Yemen, said Dr. Dhyaa Fadhil, a 
Psychological Health Program Officer at the Ministry of Health.

She added that the program is to launch an awareness campaign over 
drugs trafficking and addiction risks in the different Yemeni 
provinces this week.

"This campaign is the first step and will be followed by continual 
field visits to all Yemeni schools to promote awareness among 
students about the psychological, social, economic and health risks 
of addiction," said Fadhil.

Fadhil pointed out that the center will be the foundation block for 
curbing the drugs addiction phenomenon that has seen a sharp increase 
in the last couple of years. She said this was a result of Yemen 
having become a stepping stone for trafficking to neighboring countries.

The program signed an agreement with the Social Fund to equip the 
center with all required medical facilities as well as to build an 
additional floor for the current building.

Fadhil affirmed that there were no official data about the number of 
addicts in Yemen. However she said that the Psychological Health 
Program -  in collaboration with some other partners - is preparing 
to conduct a comprehensive evaluative study of all aspects of the 
addiction phenomenon.

In 2008, over 27 tons of narcotics and 14 million pills were seized 
within or at Yemeni borders, and around 259 people were arrested for 
drug trafficking. 88 percent of those arrested were Yemeni, said a 
source from the Anti-Narcotics Directory at the Ministry of Interior.

Last May the special Appeal Penal Court ordered an exorbitant amount 
of drugs containing four tons of hashish and millions of narcotic 
pills to be destroyed.  Judge Saeed al-Aqil, Head of the Specialized 
Penal Court, said that these narcotics concern 23 separate criminal 
cases in which 75 suspects of different nationalities are involved. 
The suspects' nationalities include 47 Yemenis, 12, Pakistanis, 10 
Iranians, 2 Syrians, 2 Saudis, 1Eritrean and 1 Ethiopian.

The amount of hashish seized weighed in at 4,604,366 kilograms, while 
6,380,000 narcotic pills were taken, all of which were obtained by 
the authorities in 2009.  The drugs were captured in Sana'a , 
Hadramout, Hodeidah, Hajja, Sa'adah, and al-Maharah. Al-Aqil went on 
to say that, , "Yemen itself is not a narcotic consumer country as is 
the case in other countries, but its geographical position makes it a 
distinctive transit station for trafficking carried out by drug gangs."

The Preliminary Penal Court's Judge, Radhwan al-Namir, said the 
majority of the narcotic pills come from Syria and Lebanon, while the 
Hashish comes from East Asia.

Drug addicts hail from all segments of society. Since the cost of 
drugs varies so dramatically, both the poor and the rich can afford 
them. In the meantime, a great number of Yemeni youth are falling 
into the drug addiction trap. On the 22nd of July 2008, Life Makers 
organization announced a project to establish the first sanatorium to 
treat drug addicts in Yemen. Following that, Adnan al-Washali, 
Executive Director at Life Makers Foundation said, "The idea was 
initiated 5 years ago. Life Makers Organization-Yemen was assigned by 
the Right Start Foundation and the Dubai Police to run an addiction 
consequences awareness program.

Since drug addicts are considered criminals in the eyes of society, 
it's very difficult to take the needed actions for treating them. 
"Addicts are socially convicted criminals, so it was natural to 
experience difficulties in establishing the treatment center," he added.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom