Government officials and NGOs working on Bangladesh's drug control met in Dhaka on June 13.
The topic was "Psychiatry Management in Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation."
Narakob organized the discussion, which took place at the Department of Drug Control's main office.
Narakob is an organization of private centers for drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation in Bangladesh.
Narakob President, Holy Cross Brother Nirmal Francis Gomez, chaired the workshop, which was organized with the support of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Bangladesh.
Speaking on occasion, Holy Cross Brother Gomes, director of the Bangladesh Rehabilitation and Assistance Center for Addicts (BARACA), a Catholic-run de-addiction center, said more collaboration is needed among the private sector, NGOs, and government officials to curb the drug menace.
Besides, relevant networking is important while rehabilitating people addicted to drugs and integrating them back into society with livelihood programs and support systems from family and friends.
BARACA, the nation's first drug treatment and recovery facility, was founded by Holy Cross Brother Ronald Drahozal in 1988. It is now a key initiative for Caritas Bangladesh, a social service organization.
BARACA offers services for the rehabilitation of drug addicts, promotes drug education, harm reduction, voluntary counseling, and testing, and operates a daycare and overnight refuge for at-risk street children.
Over the years, BARACA has treated more than 5,000 patients, and its four institutions have provided sanctuary to more than 1,500 street kids.
Md. Abdul Wahab Bhuyan, director general of the Drug Control Department, addressed the gathering as a chief guest.
In his address, Bhuyan spoke about the networking of addiction rehabilitation centers in Bangladesh.
The special guests were Md. Masood Hossain, PAA, director, Medical and Rehabilitation, Drug Control Department; Md. Azizul Islam, additional director general, Department of Drug Control; and Dr. Khaleda Begum, psychiatrist and professor (OB) at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
About 100 members, teachers, and guests of Narakob were present.
According to a report from Bangladesh's National Institutes of Health published in 2021, 2.5 million individuals in the country suffer from drug addiction, with young people between the ages of 15 and 30 making up the majority (80%).
As a result, Bangladesh is seeing an increase in substance usage, with a particular focus on young people. -Santosh Digal
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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