KABUL (SW): Hundreds of drug addicts spent a chilling winter night in a rather comforting surroundings of a former military base thanks to various ministries.
Around 400 drug addicts have been shifted to NATO’s former Camp Phoenix in the east of Kabul. Camp Phoenix was one of the biggest NATO bases that has now been turned into rehabilitation compound following a presidential decree for the hundreds of drug addicts in the capital.
Dr. Ferozuddin Feroz, the Public Health Minister oversaw the operations of transferring the addicts from Pol-e-Sokhta to the rehab center. It is said that this idea would also be replicated in other provinces as well. Dr. Feroz said on the occasion that around a thousand addicts in Kabul would be moved to the Camp and taken care of.
The ministries of Public Health, Economy, Labor, Social Welfare, and Interior collaborated for this operation.
Many of the addicted men expressed happiness for this process but some of them were not. The authorities also mentioned that during treatment they would also be trained for various crafts in order to rescue them from re-addiction. According to official statics, more than one million people in Afghanistan are addicted to various drugs.
Many addicts lose lives during the harsh winter in various parts of the country. President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has formed a commission comprising representatives of the said ministries to take care and help rehabilitate the addicted individuals. Moving addicts from Pul-i-Sokhta to the former Camp Phoenix is the first practical step taken by this commission in this regard.
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