Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar to inaugurate 41 Addiction Treatment Facilities tomorrow at DAIC, New Delhi
Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar to inaugurate 41 Addiction Treatment Facilities tomorrow at DAIC, New Delhi
Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar will virtually inaugurate 41 Addiction Treatment Facilities (ATFs) on 8th February, 2024 at 11.00 AM at DAIC, New Delhi. Ministers of State for Social Justice & Empowerment will also be present on this occasion.
To curb the menace of drug demand, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), Government of India has been implementing National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR), under which financial assistance is provided to State Governments/ Union Territory (UT) Administrations for Preventive Education and Awareness Generation, Capacity Building, Skill development, vocational training and livelihood support of ex-drug addicts, Programmes for Drug Demand Reduction by States/UTs etc. and NGOs/VOs for running and maintenance of Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts (lRCAs), Community based peer Led lntervention (CPLI) for early Drug Use Prevention among Adolescents and Outreach and Drop In Centres (ODIC) Addiction treatment facilities (ATFs) in Government Hospitals and District De-addiction Centres (DDACs) in the identified gap districts.
Further the Ministry has initiated ambitious Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) currently operational in all the districts of the country with an aim to create awareness about ill effects of substance abuse among the youth, with special focus on higher education institutes, university campuses, schools and reaching out into the community and garnering community involvement and ownership of the Abhiyaan.
A special initiative under the NMBA is establishing Addiction Treatment Facilities (ATFs) in the Government hospitals. MoSJE has launched the Addiction Treatment Facility (ATF) program and the same is being coordinated nationally by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), AIIMS, New Delhi. The MoSJE has identified 125 districts in the country for establishing ATFs. The programm is being scaled-up and the ministry is consulting various state governments and district administrations for identifying hospitals for establishing ATFs.
Earlier, 25 ATFs were dedicated to the Nation in a ceremony held at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi on 9th February 2023. Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar dedicated these 25 ATFs to the Nation in the august presence of Minister of State for Home, Shri Nityanand Rai and Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Shri A. Narayanaswamy.
Achievements of NMBA are as under:
Substance use disorder is an issue, which is adversely affecting the social fabric of the country. Dependence to any substance not only affects the individual’s health but also disrupts their families and the whole society. Regular consumption of various psychoactive substances leads to dependence of the individual. Some substance compounds may lead to neuro-psychiatric disorders, cardiovascular diseases, as well as accidents, suicides and violence. Therefore, substance use and dependence needs to be viewed as a psycho-social-medical problem.