Karachi: On the 11th of December, the Drug Abuse in Pakistan 2013 Survey Report was launched in Karachi according to which it was revealed that individuals between the ages of 15 and 64 in the country suffer from dire consequences of drug abuse.
According to the findings of the report, approximately 6.7 million adults in the country have actively been involved in substance abuse over the last 12 months. Furthermore, over 4.25 million people in the country may be drug dependent; however, treatments and therapy interventions are only available to less than 30,000 people per annum due to shortage of resources/healthcare facilities.Structured treatments at some facilities are not free of cost and therefore cannot be afforded by a large percentage of drug users.
Dr Khalid Sheikh, Special Secretary Public Health Sindh, stated that the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the UNODC is working towards the prevention of Human Immune-deficiency Virus (HIV) among drug abusers involved in multiple usage of injections for substance administration.
Mr Cesar Guedes, a UNODC Representation said that the National Drug Use Survey 2013 has been conducted in Pakistan for the very first time at provincial levels, and has played a vital role in determining national drug use and implications related to the transmission of HIV.
In Sindh alone, approximately 1.7 million people have been using illegal substances in the past year and out of these, 96, 000 people may be injecting illicit drugs. The most commonly used drug in the country and province was found to be Cannabis.
The Survey was launched by joint efforts of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Narcotics Control Division and the United Nations ODC.