Drug rehab centre to become regional model

The UAE's only drug rehabilitation centre will become a regional model for substance abuse treatment and prevention.

ABU DHABI // The country's only drug rehabilitation centre will become a regional model for substance abuse treatment and prevention, thanks to its partnership with the United Nations.

The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) yesterday formalised an agreement that will eventually see the NRC set up as a "centre of excellence" and a resource centre for the Middle East and North Africa region.

According to the agreement, rehab centres and experts from around the region will receive training at the NRC in Abu Dhabi. The UN agency will also provide support for efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of drug addiction.

"We came to this agreement as the goals of the NRC and UNODC are in line with one another," said Dr Hamad al Ghaferi, the director general of the NRC. "We are concluding the agreement with the UNODC to become the regional leader in drug treatment, rehabilitation and prevention."

The NRC opened in Abu Dhabi in 2002, and is the country's only drug rehabilitation facility.

The 18-bed centre provides in-patient treatment and also treats about 50 outpatients every month. The services are only available to Emirati men but, according to Dr Ahmed Ali, medical director of the NRC, the centre aims to start providing treatment for women next year.

The centre plans to open a 200-bed facility in Abu Dhabi for men and women by 2014, a goal the partnership with UNODC will support. "The partnership is concerned with prevention, rehabilitation and treatment to fight addiction," said Dr Hatem Aly, UNODC's representative and head of the sub-regional office for the GCC. The office opened in the capital in May and will be officially launched in January next year.

There are about 10 other UNODC centres of excellence being developed around the world. They focus on rehabilitation and reducing demand for drugs. The NRC should be established as a UNODC centre of excellence within the next two years, Dr Aly said.

Drug abuse in the Gulf region is on the increase, particularly among women and the young, according to UNODC and the NRC.

"This raises alarms, and we need to work on what the problem is and work on the solutions," Dr al Ghaferi said.

There are still no concrete statistics detailing the scope of the problem in the country or the region. The NRC's partnership with UNODC also aims to develop data collection methods.

The National Rehabilitation Centre in Abu Dhabi runs a help line on 800 2252.