Morocco/Addictology: In Tetouan, INDH strengthens prevention for vulnerable populations

Tétouan - The National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) is stepping up its prevention and support initiatives for vulnerable populations affected by drug and addiction problems. These actions include support for civil society, such as the national harm reduction association (RdR - Tétouan), which manages the social pole of the Tétouan Addictology Center.

Indeed, RdR - Tétouan is actively involved in awareness-raising and advocacy programs to combat addictive behavior, sensitize vulnerable populations to the risks associated with the use of these harmful substances, and achieve the socio-economic integration of addicts, particularly drug users.

As part of a partnership between INDH, the provincial health delegation and RdR- Tétouan, this association has benefited, for two consecutive years, from an annual operating budget of 300.000 dirhams, which has enabled it to carry out social actions in favor of its beneficiaries.

"Since the inauguration of the addictology center and the Tetouan section of the RoR, in 2014, the association has forged partnerships with various players such as theINDH, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection," Khalil Lika of RoR-Tetouan told MAP.

These partnerships, he added, have contributed to the development of the association, which today offers its services to over 450 beneficiaries and targets around 300 addicts each year.

In this vein, beneficiaries such as Rabia. M underlined, in a statement to MAP, the positive impact of these social actions on their lives.

This 61-year-old beneficiary spoke of her fight against drug addiction, which lasted almost 40 years.

"Thanks to the association, I was able to achieve complete withdrawal, benefiting since 2014, when the center opened, from psychiatric follow-up and appropriate medication," she said.

In addition, to mark World Health Day, celebrated this year under the thememy health, my right", the social section of the Tétouan Addictology Center, in collaboration with theassociation RdR-Tétouan, INDH and civil society partners, organized an awareness-raising day for its beneficiaries, with the aim of breaking the taboo surrounding the problems associated with drug addiction.

Led by social workers, the event enabled participants to freely express their feelings and emotions about the drug problem, and their own experiences of drug use and withdrawal.

Source: www.mapexpress.ma/