GARDEZ (Pajhwok): A number of drug addicts undergoing treatment at a 30-bed rehabilitation hospital in Gardez, the capital of southeastern Paktia province, have urged the caretaker government to provide them with vocational training and employment opportunities after their rehabilitation.
They said that unemployment was a major factor that led them to turn to drugs, and that access to vocational training could help them rebuild their lives and secure a better future.
Gul Rahman, a drug addict at the hospital, told Pajhwok Afghan News that a lack of employment and family problems had pushed him toward drug addiction.
He called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to support rehabilitated individuals by providing them with job opportunities.
He added: “We are deeply grateful to the doctors and staff here for helping us recognise ourselves, our faith, and our society. Once we are discharged from this place, we request the government, our families, and the community not to leave us unemployed, as joblessness could lead us back to addiction.”
Another recovering addict, Mohammad Jawad, shared a similar sentiment, saying that many addicts resorted to drugs due to a lack of economic opportunities.
“If we are given jobs and remain engaged, we will never turn back to drugs. We urge the government to provide us with vocational training and employment opportunities so that we can support our families,” he pledged.
Many other patients at the rehabilitation centre echoed these demands and also called for the expansion of the facility’s capacity and the improvement of its services.
Azizullah Azizi, the administrative chief of the hospital, said that 165 addicts had received treatment at the facility since the start of the solar year 1403.
He highlighted that the rehabilitation process included both physical and psychological treatment.
Meanwhile, the Public Health Department assured that it was working to identify, round up, and treat drug addicts in the province in coordination with the anti-narcotics department.
Dr Miraj Gul Adel, director of the department, assured that efforts were ongoing to provide addicts with vocational training after their rehabilitation in coordination with the Department of Labour and Social Affairs.
“We work alongside the counter-narcotics department to gather and hospitalise addicts for treatment. Previously, we also sent our doctors to prisons to provide medical care for addicts. We have held meetings with the Department of Labour and Social Affairs to facilitate vocational training for rehabilitated individuals,” he explained.
Additionally, hospital officials reported that 43 addicts had received treatment at their homes last year.
The Director of Labour and Social Affairs, Qari Mohammad Rahim Nasrat, told Pajhwok that vocational training programmes would be arranged for 300 recovered addicts in five different fields.
He added that trainers had been hired and all necessary materials were ready, but they were still awaiting a suitable location for the programme.
“Providing a training venue is the responsibility of the police headquarters. As soon as the location is arranged, vocational training will begin for the recovered individuals,” the director concluded.
kk/sa
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