Floods Destroy Walls of Drug Treatment Centres in Baghlan

Months after floods destroyed parts of the walls of two drug treatment centres in Baghlan province, the facilities remain unrepaired, a situation officials and patients say has weakened security and complicated treatment.

At the 40-bed centre for men, officials say the lack of a perimeter wall has increased the risk of patients escaping. Shamsuddin Haqyar, the centre’s head, said the flood also destroyed the facility’s gate and that they do not have security personnel, making the immediate reconstruction of the walls necessary.

At the 20-bed centre for women and children, patients are also complaining of a severe shortage of space. According to them, women and children are kept in one place, a situation that has made the proper use of medication difficult and limited opportunities for education.

Nargis Kabiri, the administrative and financial head of the 20-bed women and children’s centre in Baghlan, said the lack of a perimeter wall at the facility, which is for women, has created security problems. She added that the shortage of separate rooms, especially for educating women and children, is another major challenge for the centre.

At present, dozens of people addicted to drugs, including women and children, are undergoing 45-day treatment courses at these two centres. Patients have called on the responsible authorities to also help prevent them from relapsing after treatment by providing job opportunities, saying poverty and unemployment are among the main factors driving people towards drugs.

Baghlan’s Department of Public Health said the procurement process for rebuilding the destroyed walls has begun and efforts to address the centres’ problems are continuing. Ahmad Ershad Sahibzada, the department’s deputy, said recent floods destroyed the wall of the 40-bed men’s centre, the wall of the 20-bed women’s centre and the wall of the guards’ building in Kotal-e-Khairkhana, and that reconstruction work will begin after the procurement process is completed.

Baghlan is among the provinces that, following recent floods, have seen damage to public facilities and local infrastructure. Drug treatment centres in the province are among the places that provide basic medical services for people addicted to drugs.