Marking World Drug Day on Wednesday in Kabul, health officials said that addiction is a serious social problem and more effort should be made to prevent it.

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Monitoring: Abdul Wali Haqqani, Deputy Minister of Public Health, said “54,346 drug addicts have been treated since the Islamic Emirate’s takeover.”
The Ministry of Interior’s counter-narcotics department also said that 15,000 drug addicts are currently receiving treatment in 12 centers.
A representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) also said that this organization supports the process of treating addicts and the fight against drugs.
“From 2014 to 2021, the number of drug addicts in the world has increased from 240 to 296 million. In cooperation with our implementing partners, we also support a number of drug addiction treatment centers in Afghanistan,” said WHO representative for Afghanistan.
In the past, Afghanistan was one of the main drug-producing countries in the world.
However, after the prohibition of drug cultivation and production in Afghanistan, the United Nations reported a 95% decrease in poppy cultivation in the country.
The Islamic Emirate has however repeatedly appealed to the international community for help to provide alternative crops, but countries have not yet stepped forward to assist./Bakhtar