President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has revealed the government aims to provide rehabilitation services for addicts in their residential islands. He made the statement while speaking at the ceremony held at Kulhudhuffushi City to mark the National Youth Day.
President Solih said rehabilitating young people who are addicted to drugs is a longstanding challenge in the youth population. He said the government will soon begin rehabilitation programmes for young people in the islands they reside in to prevent them from being excluded from the community. President Solih cited the Ministry of Health as stating the drug use problem in the country has worsened, with children as young as eight years old succumbing to addiction.
A survey has shown the average age for addicts in the country now ranges from 17 to 68, which is worse compared to the average age of 22 to 37 in 2014.
The health ministry has begun training and assigning teams to each island to assist in rehabilitating addicts. As such, the ministry has decided to choose 24 candidates and train three-member teams to begin the work this year.