Drug Prevention Campaign brought to life by UN

The Drug Prevention Campaign, led by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has at last been brought to life during a program at the Governor House, Sindh.  A five month long drive would be run across 9 major cities of Sindh, guiding people about drugs and their effects on health and society.

The interior ministry and the narcotics control has allied with the US State department’s International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau (INL) to make the drug prevention campaign successful. Representative of the UNODC, Shahid Afridi (cricketer) and several other notables were present at the event.

According to government officials the campaign would be run in Khairpur, Jacobabad, Nawabshah, Mirpurkhas, Badin, Shikarpur, Sukker, Larkana and Hyderabad.

The campaign does not restrict to discussing about harmful effects of drugs on one individual, but it goes on further educate the public how it effects families and eventually the overall society. Though all age groups have been targeted, a keen focus has been kept on the youth, teachers, parents and religious leaders.

Dr. Ishratul Ebad, Governor Sindh, was the chief guest at the event. He called the campaign a first step in the prevention of drug abuse – adding that it would eventually help in securing the country’s economy.

Drugs have been a major source of finance for militants throughout the world. What makes Pakistan a key in the fight against drugs is its location, making it a major hub of illicit drug trade. After cries from international organizations and media the issue has been added to the National Action Plan, and therefore this operation against drug traders and terrorists has come to fruition.

Read: http://htv.com.pk/news/drug-addiction-results-up-to-700-deaths-per-day-in-pakistan

Like the Sindh governor, UNODC representative, Mr. Cesar Guedes was also believes that drug use has severe economic impacts. Drug addicts become a burden on the health services of the country not directly by drug treatment but also by associated diseases such as Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and HIV.

Mr. Cesar spoke about the easy availability of any drug with in the country, which he explained was making the youth more interested in it, experimenting and eventually becoming dependent on them.

The campaign is designed keeping the statistics from the UNODC’s ‘Drug use in Pakistan 2013 survey,’ in mind.

News Source: http://www.dawn.com/news/1201264