The Benue State government plans to establish community-based treatment centers for
Governor Samuel Ortom announced this yesterday while declaring open a stakeholders workshop on capacity building for treatment practitioners.
It was organized by the state government in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, anchored by office of wife of the Governor.
He explained that the administration would partner with Civil Society Organizations to begin the process of helping to identify suitable facilities where such centers could be located with a view to equipping them preparatory to commencing work.
Governor Ortom stated that the state would also collaborate with the United Nations office on Drugs and Crime to source for the personnel that would work in the centers.
He listed the duties of such personnel to include provision of services such as sensitization of members of the public and building of necessary linkages with other organizations in order to guarantee accessibility to treatment of drug related cases.
The Governor who noted that the desire to offer support for drug patients motivated his wife to establish the Oracle Business Foundation Limited so as to raise the quality of their lives and other impoverished persons and to seek partnership with the United Nations on his assumption of duty as Governor to enhance the work.
He promised to do everything possible to ensure the success of the program and solicited the support of individuals and organizations.
In her speech, wife of the Governor, Mrs. Eunice Ortom, represented by Commissioner of Women Affairs, Mrs. Mwuese Mnyim, expressed hope that the collaboration would help in eliminating drug abuse in the state and urged participants to take the workshop seriously so as actualize set goals.
Also speaking, Project Coordinator of UNODC in the state, Mr. Emmanuel Gbagyo, stated that the fight against drug abuse was a collective one which he said should be taken seriously, pointing out that one of the objectives of the workshop was to improve the technical skills and capacity of treatment practitioners.
