‘Two de-addiction centres for women are not enough’ NG Uttam

Manipur: Social Welfare Director NG Uttam on Thursday said the problem of drug addiction is an accepted reality, but only for men. The state has easy access to rehabilitation centres for men, while there are two de-addiction centres for women. However, he lamented that the two de-addiction centres for women are not enough for treatment.

There was a time when women were forced to deal with addiction with little social or medical support, but with at least two de-addiction centres, that critical phase has been crossed, Uttam said. However, it is not enough as the centre’s allocation is 30 drug-addicted women, Uttam said. He informed of the advocacy meeting to involve women drug-using women in planning and monitoring of services, which was organised by Nirvana Foundation and India HIV/AIDS Alliance, New Delhi with support from Gilead, India, at Hotel Imphal on Thursday.

“Treating 30 drug user women is not enough in the current context”, said Uttam, adding that a private de-addiction centre has been provided guidelines to register under the Manipur government. It provides guidelines of minimum standard of care and services that must be followed to receive quality treatment services.

Taking advantage of the programme, Uttam informed that there have been several cases of newborn babies being abandoned or thrown away in secluded places. Instead of throwing or keeping the newborn babies somewhere, hand them over to the District Child Protection Unit, suggested Uttam, adding that the identity of the mother or father will not be disclosed. The child can be claimed within two months and the child can be handed over to the childless parents, he said. Nirvana Foundation secretary Sorokhaibam Sobha informed that the programme aims to provide the same treatment to female drug users as is given to male drug users.