People should accept existence of drug users to fight the menace, says ARK foundation president

Our Correspondent
Wokha, Feb. 25 (EMN): President of ARK foundation Kohima, Ketho Angami on Friday said called upon the people to accept the existence of drug users in the community and effectively fight the social evil together, saying that denial encourages the menace to flourish.

He was speaking at ‘Stakeholders sensitisation workshop on substance use-prevention and treatment’ organised by Team Metamorphosis in partnership with ARK Foundation Kohima and support of state’s Social Welfare department at DC Conference Hall in Wokha.

Speaking on substance use and its consequences in the society, Angami said the porous border and ineffective checking by the concerned department could be the reason for massive inflow of drugs into the state.

He said that addiction is a disease, which needs to be addressed properly; understand the issues and initiate treatment with proper counselling. He added that besides availability of drugs, family upbringing and problems are one of the major factors that lead to drug abuse.

He called upon the people to formulate action plan to help fight drug abuse and lamented the absence of drug treatment centre in Wokha, which is a must to address the issue of addiction.

Resource person Orenthung Tungoe, Pastor, Spirit of Faith Church, Wokha, spoke on overcoming substance use through biblical perspectives. He urged the gathering to share the gospel to help drug users overcome addiction.

Team Metamorphosis Chief M James Tungoe and James Ezung from department of Social Welfare also spoke at the event which was attended by several church and youth leaders.

Meanwhile, drug use, HIV/AIDS and other health-related issues were discussed during the interactive session.

It was informed that Wokha has 1700 ‘hidden’ cases related to HIV/AIDS as per ICTC report, 202 sex workers and more than 1500 plus registered drugs users.