Drug abuse is “one of the top predicaments facing the nation’s youth today,” says Vice President Faisal Naseem.

The vice president made the statement while speaking at the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the project to develop a Drug Detoxification and Community Rehabilitation Centre in the Hulhumeedhoo district of Addu City, during his one-day trip to Seenu and Gnaviyani atolls on Saturday.

Highlighting the prevalence of illicit drug use among youth, Naseem described it as one of the top predicaments facing the nation’s youth today. The VP characterised drug abuse as “a menace that severely compromises people’s well-being and productivity,” and added that it has “a substantial negative impact on the development work done by the government”.

Further noting President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration’s plans to increase youth’s contribution towards national development, Naseem noted that this will be done by “giving the youth positive direction and providing them with opportunities”.

He reiterated the administration’s plans to “rescue those youths who have become victim to drug abuse, to treat them and return them to the community as successful individuals capable of contributing to national development”.

The vice president also emphasized that “treating drug-involved offenders provides a unique opportunity to decrease substance abuse and reduce criminal behaviour”.

While the Drug Detoxification and Community Rehabilitation Centre is funded through an MVR eight million grant assistance from India, VP Naseem said that “once established, it will accentuate the administration’s efforts towards shaping the role and increasing the contribution of youth to national development”.

The agreement on setting up of the drug-detox centre was signed during Indian Foreign Secretary, Harsh Shringla’s visit to the Maldives back in November. It is to provide detoxification, community rehabilitation and residential rehabilitation services.

The vice president also met with senior officials from Addu Equatorial Hospital during his trip, as well as students training at the Addu Flying Academy at Gan Airport.

He traveled to Fuvahmulah City in Gnaviyani atoll for the second leg of the tour, where he toured the site for the road development project and was briefed on the project. He also visited the Waste Management Site in Fuvahmulah City, run by Waste Management Corporation Limited (WAMCO) under the guidance of the City Council. While there, the Vice President deliberated on the waste management plan prepared for the City. Naseem also met with senior management of Fuvahmulah Hospital during the one-day trip.