By Olimatou Coker
The Drug Law Enforcement Agency (DLEAG) has secured funding from Ecowas for the construction of a Correction and Rehabilitation Centre, (CRC) at its complex in Tranquil, Brusubi.
The project will cost D9million and it will be the first ever of such a facility in the country.
According to officials who gathered at the site for the foundation laying yesterday, the facility will be used for the rehabilitation and treatment of victims of substance abuse disorder and other drug-related psychoses.
Commenting on this development, the director general of DLEAG, Demba Ceesay said his institution is committed to ensuring that the approach to drugs and substance use disorders is public health-oriented.
He added that DLEAG has always been interested in having such a facility and there is a growing need for society to see youths in drugs as victims and not perpetrators.
”That is why in ongoing efforts to make amendments in the Drug Control Act (2003), DLEAG is making deliberate attempt to suggest Alternative To Incarceration (ATI) programmes including community services for first time offenders in selected common drugs, lighter fines for certain quantities of selected drugs, counselling and skill training services for drugs victims just to name a few,” he said,
Dr Modou Nyassi, director of health services welcomed the initiative. He disclosed that in 2024 alone, over 200 new psychiatric cases were treated while follow-up care has been provided for more than 250 individuals struggling with substance use disorder.
“This figure will not even account for the countless others receiving treatment at other health facilities across the country, including the main hospital at EFSTH,” he lamented.
He said a rehabilitation centre will be a beacon of hope for countless individuals and families affected by mental health issues, including the devastating impact of drug and substance use.
Interior Minister Abdoulie Sanyang said the centre will serve as a symbol of hope and an amplification of the nation’s commitment to prioritising a public health approach in the response to the drug problem.
Claude Kondor, the political adviser to the Ecowas resident representative, also spoke at length about the proposed facility.
