<i>'50000 drug addicts in country' </i>
At present there are about 50000 drug addicts in the country while 20000 of them take drugs through syringe, speakers said at the inaugural ceremony of a rehabilitation centre yesterday.
The 3rd 40-bed Free Drug Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre of Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) was established with the financial and technical support of Family Health International at Johnson Road in the old part of the city, says a press release.
The speakers also said that due to easy access to drugs it has spread widely as a serious social disease. Treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts is important to combat this crime, they added.
So far with the financial and technical support of Family Health International, DAM from 2005 has given free treatment to 1459 addicts and helped them rehabilitate in old Dhaka and Mymensingh.
Majority of the drug addicts who received free treatment from the DAM have returned to normal life. Meanwhile, 96 persons have been provided with jobs, technical training was given to 939 people and 33 HIV patients have been provided with free drug addiction treatment and service.
Besides, Ahsania Mission is also going to start a drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation centre for women in the city this year.
Additional Secretary of Home Ministry Dr Sheikh Abdur Rashid inaugurated the Treatment Centre as the chief guest.
The inaugural ceremony was presided over by DAM Programme Director Shafiqul Islam while Family Health International Country Director Misti Mc Dowell was present as special guest.
Assistant Director AKM Abdur Razzak, Project Manager Iqbal Masud and Family Health International Programme Officer Sheikh Jahangir Hossain were also present.
DAM has been operating one 100-bed treatment centre at Gazipur, one 60-bed free treatment centre at Johnson Road in old Dhaka and one 35-bed rehabilitation and treatment centre in Mymensingh.
Since 1990, DAM has been conducting anti-drug activities through 402 sub-committees in 150 upazilas of 54 districts.
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