The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control and supported by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)- Pakistan of the US Department of State, is implementing a drug prevention campaign in nine cities located in the province of Sindh. These cities are: Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur, Shikarpur, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Jacobabad, and Khairpur.
The overall aim of this five-month long campaign is to raise public awareness on drugs and their harmful effects on individuals, families and society at large with a special focus on youth in the educational institutions, teachers, parents and religious leaders.
The campaign is based on the results of the "Drug use in Pakistan 2013 Survey". According to the survey, it is estimated that six percent of the population in Pakistan, or 6.7 million people, aged between 15 and 64 had used drugs in the year the survey was conducted. Of these, 4.25 million people are thought to be suffering from drug use disorders and drug dependence, reporting significant challenges controlling or reducing their use and experiencing negative personal consequences as a result of their drug use.
The province of Sindh had the second highest prevalence rate for cannabis use in the country. 4.3 percent of the population uses cannabis, and an estimated 570,000 people in Sindh used opioids (painkillers) during previous years. Of these, 66 percent used prescription opioids and 34 percent used heroin, opium or both.-PR
Comments
Comments are closed.