Lubna: 76 addicts taken into remand centres from the streets

National Drug Agency (NDA)’s Chairperson Lubna Zahir states 74 individuals have been taken into remand centres to date as part of an operation to provide rehabilitation services to individuals found on the streets in an intoxicated state.

Lubna, in an article published on the government website, ‘Sarukaaru’, emphasized that a large number of people required drug rehabilitation. As such, she said they were being enrolled for drug rehabilitation voluntarily or via drug courts or remand operations.

“Among this, I note that 74 addicts from the streets have been enrolled in rehabilitation. Approximately 50 of them have completed their remand period and officially entered NDA’s drug rehabilitation system. This marks a significant achievement for us,” she detailed.

According to Lubna, NDA conducts outreach for addicts who require immediate treatment based on the severity of their drug abuse. A huge support is received from Maldives Police Service for these efforts, she added.

Lubna stated that the first treatment offered to addicts while they remain in society is detoxification. This treatment is provided at hospitals, under the supervision of doctors, with the prescribed medications.

“We conduct the detoxification process in collaboration with health facilities. We have received the green light from the Health Ministry for this. The treatment is being commenced in collaboration with health facilities, with trained doctors,” she said.

Lubna also discussed NDA’s plans for the prevailing year, emphasizing that the main objective of the Agency is to improve its rehabilitation centers. She detailed that efforts will be made to increase the capacity of the centers and enhance the services provided.

The Drug Agency head also expressed concern over the fact that no structural changes have been made to NDA’s rehabilitation centers over the past 10 years.  

NDA, in collaboration with Police, commenced efforts to detain and rehabilitate addicts who are active on the streets on October 20^th. Prior to this, the Police had stated that addicts who beg on the streets, engage in crimes like theft and robbery, or sleep in mosques would be detained and taken to remand centers as part of these efforts.