ALCOHOL and drug abusers can now benefit from free treatment and services provided by the Ministry of Health through its Drug Demand Reduction Programme (DDRP). Towards achieving the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), the Ministry is responsible for implementing measures, guided by the National Health Sector Strategy 2008-2012 and the National Drug Strategy Master Plan 2005-2009, to reduce the number of such abusers by making provision for those in need.
The US$3,339,000 scheme will fund treatment and rehabilitation centres, anti-drug edutainment programmes for schools, training in edutainment, structured relapse prevention and motivational interviewing, the programme for prisons, the anti-drug television programme ‘Changing Course’ and the anti-drug radio programme ‘Tales from the Crack’.
Abuse victims and those who may have a family member in dire need of assistance can visit the health centres below and be treated free of cost.
* Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) compound, below the Male Medical Ward in New Market Street, Georgetown, on Tuesday afternoons from 15:00 h to 17:00 h;
* National Psychiatric Hospital, Fort Canje, Berbice, on Monday afternoons from 15:00 h to 17:00 h and
* Smythfield Drop-in Centre, New Amsterdam, also in Berbice, on Thursday afternoons from 14:00 h to 16:00h.
Those centres aid in providing improved treatment and rehabilitation, establishment of new rehabilitation centres, strengthen the rehabilitation centres run by the Salvation Army and Phoenix Recovery Project, foster prison rehabilitation and counselling, strengthen probation service and develop a national reporting format.
The DDRP focuses on the diminution of drug use/abuse and extension of rehabilitative services to alleviate the strains on society caused by persons with substance dependency.
Leading precursors
According to the Ministry, illicit drugs and alcohol have been found to be the leading precursors to certain repetitive, destructive behaviours by persons consuming addictive psychoactive substances such as marijuana, cocaine, tobacco etc.
As a result of alcohol and drug abuse, defective personality traits develop in substance abusers, leading to behaviour that contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancies, domestic violence, suicide, deadly traffic accidents, petty crimes, unemployment and all other undesirable social conduct, mostly by teenagers.
The Ministry said a number of preventative measures have been put in place to deal with the issue. They are development and implementation of safe lifestyle programmes for all Guyanese; strengthening current health and family life education; target groups surveys; developing statistical substance/drug abuse database for improving policy formulation; training Government of Guyana/Non-Governmental Organisations personnel in substance/drug abuse education; bolstering civil society involvement in anti-substance/drug abuse advocacy; education strategy for tobacco and alcohol; media strategy for promoting drug awareness; development of employee assistance programmes; training health workers to identify drug users and developing national policy on demand reduction.
Other preventative methods include a Schools Anti-Drug Edutainment Programme, designed to teach adolescents and young adults the harmful effects of drug and alcohol use in an effort to reduce the number of potential substance abusers by providing them with as much information and life lessons as possible.
The Ministry will also be offering traditional treatment for addictions through rehabilitation programmes which offer either in-patient or out-patient services, where trained facilitators, social workers and other health workers utilise forms of counselling referred to as structured relapse prevention and motivational interviewing.
Recovering addicts begin a regimen of activities with the expectation of enabling them to streamline their lives.  Special populations, such as prison inmates require this service as an opportunity to reform and encourage positive behaviour change while they are incarcerated.