“My love for adventure and exploration came at a great cost. I lost my family, my job, and my friends. Everyone avoided me,” said 30-year-old Abdallah who beat an addiction problem two years ago.
Abdallah received treatment through the Fund for Combating and Treating Addiction and Abuse “free of charge and with complete confidentiality”, he said while at the exhibition of products created by recovering addicts, organised by the fund.
“After losing my job, I struggled to find work. Thankfully, the fund provided technical training, and today, I work as an elevator technician. I have clients and I’m building a name for myself in the market,” he said, admitting that “the path to recovery was arduous but even more challenging was reintegrating into society.”
Abdallah said the most important requirement for treatment is the patient’s genuine desire to recover as well as to call the hotline 16023 which guides them through steps based on their specific situation.
Medhat Wahba, spokesperson for the fund, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the fund asks where patients live and details related to drug usage such as the duration and type of substances used. Subsequently, patients are referred to the nearest treatment centre affiliated with the fund or to partner centres connected with the hotline.
Treatment services adhere to international standards, encompassing not only drug withdrawal but also psychological support and social rehabilitation services, Wahba said. Services are provided regardless of gender and age, free of charge and with utmost confidentiality, he stressed.
Egypt allocates LE150,000 for the treatment of every patient struggling with drug addiction, with 85 per cent of those seeking assistance falling between the ages of 18 and 40. The fund receives 70,000 applications for addiction treatment through its hotline and outpatient clinics annually, linked to addiction and abuse treatment facilities, Minister of Social Solidarity Maya Morsi said at a conference on the outcomes of the fund’s study on the effectiveness of community integration programmes for recovering addicts.
The study is the first in the Arab world that focuses on the effects of social and economic empowerment initiatives on enhancing the quality of life for patients in recovery.
“The fund fosters the societal inclusion of people on the path to recovery,” said Amr Othman, assistant minister of social solidarity and director of the fund.
“This is a considerable challenge because, as the study points out, there is a direct correlation between drug abuse, diminished productivity, and the inability to sustain employment while addicted,” Othman explained. This is why the fund launched a comprehensive programme focusing on community integration for recovering addicts. The initiative encompasses a range of social, cultural, and psychological interventions aimed at aiding patients in their transition to becoming active and contributing members of society. Key aspects of the programme include strategies for economic empowerment within the framework of community integration, Othman added.
The programme also incorporates vocational training tailored to meet the demands of the job market, Othman said, noting that the addiction fund has set up vocational training workshops across all its treatment facilities, benefiting 14,000 people in 2023.
Recovering addicts also participate in the setup and outfitting of new treatment centres. Moreover, the fund facilitates access to small business loans for recovering addicts through Nasser Social Bank, Othman said.
Morsi, also CEO of the fund, stated that the geographical reach of addiction treatment services has been expanded to include previously under-served governorates. In 2014, the service was limited to 12 treatment centres across nine governorates. Presently, treatment is available at 33 centres spanning 19 governorates.
Othman said addicts face involuntary exclusion from the work place, advocating for a legislative framework that supports people in recovery.
The fund conducted the study involving 2,080 individuals, ensuring proportional representation of females, constituting six per cent of the total sample.
Focusing on the quality of life after recovery, the study found a higher level of self-reliance among recovering addicts who participated in integration programmes compared to those who did not, which highlights the positive impact of such initiatives in boosting self-reliance, bolstering confidence, enhancing the social networks of recovering addicts, improving their social skills, and rebuilding their self-assurance in both themselves and others.
Hence, the study recommended the widespread implementation of community integration programmes for all recovering addicts, advocating for the integration of these programmes as a fundamental step complementing the treatment and rehabilitation process of recovering addicts.
In addition, the study called for increasing financial resources allocated to these programmes, particularly economic empowerment initiatives, as current small and micro-project financing remains relatively limited despite its observed positive effects on enhancing recovering addicts’ quality of life and reducing relapse rates.
The study proposed including more women in the programme due to the challenges women face socially and financially during addiction, which necessitate tailored programmes that respect their privacy.
Furthermore, the study revealed the need for specialised community integration programmes for people with special needs, as none were represented in the study sample.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 26 September, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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