The wife of the governor of Abia, Priscilla Otti, has highlighted the need for the application of a gender-responsive approach in the campaign against drug abuse and addiction.
Mrs Otti said this in a statement signed by her Press Secretary, Justice Ndubueze, and made available to newsmen on Friday, in Umuahia. She said that the existing interventions designed for either the treatment of drug addiction or the prevention of drug abuse were done with men in mind.
“We will establish a dedicated channel through which we can scale up gender-responsive drug demand reduction and treatment interventions among female drug users.
“This group of persons, who despite the high prevalence of drug use, have a very low rate of accessing treatment,” she added.
The governor’s wife promised to use her good office as the chairperson of the state Drug Control Committee to enhance the effective implementation of rehabilitation programmes in Abia.
She added that the programmes would greatly address the physical and mental health aspects of drug addiction, through harm-reduction strategies to facilitate a holistic recovery for drug addicts.
She also said that she would form drug control committees in the 17 local government councils in the state, to further drive the campaign against drug abuse.
According to her, drug abuse has become a menace, and calls for urgent action against the issue, as it is steadily eating deep into the fabric of society. She called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency over substance abuse and drug trafficking in the country.
The governor’s wife said it was important for the government at all levels to allocate adequate resources to tackle drug abuse, to strengthen the campaign against it.
She expressed the readiness of the state government to collaborate with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other security agencies to combat drug use and trafficking in the state.
Otti said that plans were underway to conduct regular community outreaches to support the NDLEA’s drug integrity testing policy aimed at early detection of drug users and timely intervention to prevent addiction progression.