“If you are a drug addict, we have free treatment for you”. That was the title of a mini marathon held last weekend in Mansoura, the capital city of the governorate of Daqahliya in the east Delta, by the Fund for Fighting and Treating Drug Addiction, affiliated to Egypt’s Ministry of Social Solidarity. The Ministry runs a programme titled “You’re stronger than drugs” under the auspices of Ghada Wali, Minister of Social Solidarity, with the aim of raising awareness among Egyptian youth of the perils of drug-abuse.
The mini marathon aimed at highlighting the services afforded through the hotline 16023, and the free-of-charge treatment that is conducted under strict confidentiality, also the role played by family in the early detection of addiction. Mansoura includes 22 treatment centers so far.
The mini-marathon witnessed wide participation by young people, many of whom who carried photos of Egyptian footballer and Liverpool star, Mohammad Salah.
In Daqahliya, the Social Solidarity Ministry has implemented a programme of “Choose your lifestyle” in some 200 schools for educating students on the dangers of drugs. It also organised one-day seminars that targeted more than 2000 young men and women, and held training courses for 150 of them to qualifying as leaders in the programme.
Dr Wali inaugurated last year a centre for treatment of drug abuse at the Medical School of Mansoura University, established in collaboration with the Fund for Fighting Drug Addiction. Since it opened in April 2018, the centre has helped treat some 4,000 drug addicts.
Watani International
10 February 2019