The Director of the Anti-Addiction Fund accompanies delegations from 14 Arab countries to inspect a treatment center affiliated with the Fund
Dr. Amr Othman, Director of the Fund for Combating and Treating Addiction and Abuse, accompanied representatives of the governments of 14 Arab countries, and the relevant councils and committees at the level of the Arab world, to inspect one of the treatment centers affiliated with the Fund for Combating and Treating Addiction and Abuse, in which a conference is being held to launch the mechanisms for implementing the Arab plan to prevent and reduce the dangers of drugs on Arab society, in the presence of Professor Medhat Wehbe, the media advisor and official spokesman for the Fund for Combating and Treating Addiction and Abuse. The plan was prepared by the Fund for Combating Addiction and Abuse, In coordination with the League of Arab States and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Al-Azma for the Anti-Addiction Fund, and the center also includes a “five-a-side” football field. And table tennis, billiards, gym halls for men and also for women, a music hall, a theatre, a library, a restaurant, and vocational training workshops for “men and women.” To teach them professional crafts needed by the labor market within the “Work Therapy” program, and they met a group of recovering people inside the center amid great praise for the provision of all services free of charge and in accordance with international standards.
Dr. Amr Othman reviewed the experience of the Fund for Combating and Treating Addiction and Abuse in confronting the phenomenon of drug abuse and addiction, as the Fund represents in the Arab Republic of Egypt the national mechanism to reduce the demand for drugs through high-quality preventive and therapeutic services based on scientific evidence and fully compatible with human rights principles. Human Rights: This human rights-based approach is an essential element in the Egyptian national strategy to combat drugs, which was recently launched under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and is being implemented in cooperation with relevant ministries and governmental and non-governmental bodies. It includes primary prevention and the shift from the stage of awareness to the stage of actual prevention within educational and youth institutions and the implementation of family-oriented programs “prevention and early detection.” With a focus on the areas most vulnerable to the drug problem and creating an educational and sports environment that enhances the ability of young people to reject the culture of substance abuse, and investing religious institutions effectively in correcting the false culture around substance abuse, with an emphasis on introducing free addiction treatment services, especially in the governorates that are least in demand for those services.
The Fund’s experience also extends beyond treatment, to include a comprehensive methodology for rehabilitation and reintegration through social and psychological support, and training. Professional and economic empowerment for those in recovery, in addition to efforts aimed at combating social stigma. The first bachelor’s degree was also launched in cooperation between the Anti-Addiction Fund and Benha University for a credit-hour program that grants the graduate a specialized bachelor’s degree in “Psychology of Addiction and Therapeutic Methods.” It is the first of its kind in the Middle East to prepare a graduate who possesses the skills, knowledge, and professionalism to enable him to keep pace with the development of scientific research in the field of addiction, community service, and treatment of addictive behaviors.
For their part, representatives of the governments of Arab countries praised the Egyptian experience in confronting the phenomenon of drug abuse and addiction, community integration, and economic empowerment for those recovering, in the context of keenness to provide free post-treatment services. They also expressed their great happiness at being in one of the treatment centers affiliated with the Fund. Combating and treating addiction in the Arab Republic of Egypt and described the experience as pioneering in the region.
The activities of the sessions of the second day of the conference launched the mechanisms for implementing the Arab plan for prevention and reducing the dangers of drugs on Arab society. From a social perspective, in cooperation with the League of Arab States, the conference will be held over two days within one of the treatment centers affiliated with the Fund for Combating and Treating Addiction and Abuse in the Arab Republic of Egypt. Today it includes three sessions, the first " International standards for drug prevention from a social perspective" And the second " The role of the family and society in drug prevention…best practices and outlook for the future " And the third session “Presenting the experiences of member states in drug prevention and reducing their dangers.”
The conference sessions will be held on the second day under the patronage of Dr. Maya Morsi, Minister of Social Solidarity, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Anti-Addiction Fund, and Head of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs, and in the presence of Dr. Amr Othman, Director of the Addiction Control and Treatment Fund, which is preparing the Arab plan to prevent and reduce the dangers of drugs on society. Al-Arabi and Minister Plenipotentiary Tariq Al-Nabulsi, Director of the Department of Development and Social Policies and a member of the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs, and representatives of the governments of 14 Arab countries, the relevant councils and committees at the level of the Arab world, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the Sharjah Police General Command, in addition to a number of international institutions and experts concerned with the case.
