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Mauritius: The second phase of the Youth Empowerment Programme Against Drugs (YEPAD), aimed at engaging community members in the combat against the drug scourge, was launched this morning at the Gold Crest Hotel in Quatre Bornes.
The Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, the Officer-in-Charge of the Harm Reduction Unit, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr Nitish Raj Sookool, and other personalities were present on the occasion.
In his address, the Health Minister underlined that this programme aims to empower communities with the right knowledge and training so that they are able to provide information, education, and support to prevent drug consumption in their localities.
“The YEPAD was first held in March 2021 to raise awareness in 26 regions of Mauritius on the situation of drug consumption and discourage youngsters from falling into the scourge of drugs, and, to date, 672 participants have benefitted from YEPAD training”, underlined Dr Jagutpal.
The Minister indicated that for the second phase, a National Platform will be created consisting of one focal person from every batch of trained persons, who will, in turn, identify other community leaders to participate in the Drug Use Prevention Programme.
He also spoke about the National Campaign Against Drugs entitled ‘Unis contre la drogue’, an initiative of the Prime Minister’s Office which aims to sensitise the population about the dangers and risks of consuming drugs. He thus underscored that the fight against drugs required the collective efforts of society to eliminate the drug scourge.
On this score, Minister Jagutpal informed that this initiative is not only a fight against drugs but is also a challenge to help drug victims. “Drug addiction is an illness and relevant assistance such as rehabilitation should be provided to those victims of drug abuse,” he pointed out.
He thereby informed that it is in this context that the Government has come up with the creation of the Drug Users Administrative Panel (DUAP), which intends to give a second chance to drug users to reintegrate into society without having to go through the legal system.
Furthermore, the Health Minister observed that according to the Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance Survey 2020, 6,600 drug users inject drugs using a syringe and the average age of drug users who inject drugs is 21 years while for users of all types of drugs the average age is 18 years.
On this note, he reiterated his conviction that the YEPAD will help the youth learn about the dangers of drugs and contribute to raising awareness of the risks and dangers of its consumption. “There will be significant progress in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking if the youths contribute in sensitisation programmes and lead their peers not to fall prey to drugs,” he added.
For his part, Dr Sookool indicated that, for the second phase of the YEPAD, Officers of the Harm Reduction Unit of the Ministry will keep in touch with the groups of people that have already been trained in the first phase so as to ensure the continuity of the anti-drug activities in the regions.