The Sultanate celebrated today Tuesday at Kempinski Hotel Muscat the International Day against Drug Abuse & Illicit Trafficking, which marks 26 of June every year.

The celebration held under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Harrasi, Chairman of Public Authority for Radio & Television (PART) in the presence of Maj. Gen. Hamad bin Suleiman Al-Hatmi, Assistant Inspector General of Police and Customs Operations along with a number of Undersecretaries, Walyis and senior officials.

The celebration, which organized by the Executive Office of the National Committee for Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (NCNPS), came this year under the theme: "Initiate… The Community Needs You".

Dr. Mahmoud bin Zahir Al-Abri, NCNPS Supervisor stated that the theme of this year highlighted the importance of having an essential role to play in tackling the drugs problem, especially in the fields of prevention, rehabilitation, studies and researches. He also added that a manual for preparation of awareness programs in the field of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances has been developed as a basic reference for the government and private institutions and civil society organizations.

Dr. Al-Abri pointed out there are many efforts being made by the concerned authorities that are coordinated through the NCNPS. These efforts culminated in launching the National Strategy of Drug Control. During the last period, the Committee has reviewed and updated several laws and regulations related to drugs, for example, the Anti-Drug Law issued in 1999 to conform to the development of the international laws and regulations in this field. Furthermore, completing and adopting a regulation of the private health institutions for treatment and rehabilitation of drugs and psychotropic substances addicts, as well as completing and adopting a Guide to dealing with narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in the health and pharmaceutical institutions.         

The celebration included the announcement of the results of a community competition on drugs & psychotropic substances control. Dr. Huda Al-Siyabia, Director of Community Health Initiatives and Head of Competition Evaluation Team said that the competition is a participatory work based on adopting and implementing community-based projects aimed at reducing the problem of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. A central team and sub-teams were formed to evaluate the projects according to the established criteria for this purpose

Al-Siyabia also added that the competition aims to promote the inter-Sectoral cooperation, as well as coordinating and consolidating the efforts between various sectors through the health committees in order to reduce the spread of drugs and psychotropic substances. In addition to increasing the community awareness toward the risks of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and strengthening cooperation to find solutions to the issues and problems of addiction that affecting the community members.    

During the celebration, a first version of the manual for preparation of awareness programs in the field of drugs and psychotropic substances was launched. The manual includes a definition and reasons of drugs and psychotropic substances, prevention methods, preparation of awareness programs and the role of the concerned authorities in drugs awareness.

At the end of the celebration, the chief guest honored the winning projects of the competition; in the first place the project "My Health is in My Life – My Addiction is My Prison" for the Wilayat of Boushar. The project of "Measuring the Awareness Level of the Parents on Drugs Risks" for the Wilayat of Al-Amerat is ranked the second place. The project of "A Society Free of Drugs" for the Wilayat of Liwa came in the third place. While the projects of "Reducing the Spread of Drugs & Psychotropic Substances" for the Wilayat of Mirbat and "My Nation is Free of Drugs" for the Wilayat of Sohar are ranked the fourth place. In addition, the members of the awareness programs have been honored.

Awards were also given to a number of Wilayiats including Quriyat for the project of "An Aware Community without Drugs", Saham for the project of "A Family without Drugs", Ibri for the project of "Yes for Life…No for Drugs", Suwaiq for the project of "Be Aware" and Sur for the project of "Tobacco & Drugs Control".

The chief guest toured the awareness exhibition that included the ten projects that participating in the competition from various Wilayiats over the Sultanate.