Shocking and scary statistics have been revealed today as it has been confirmed that about 7,000 patients have been treated at Saint Giles Hospital due to drug related abuse.
Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs and Immigration, Mason Smith, highlighted this during the Counter Illicit Narcotics Workshop at Tanoa Plaza today.
Smith says the way the trend is going at Saint Giles Hospital, it may end up treating 10,000 people by the end of this year which raises serious concerns about the abuse of drugs.
He says they want to detect and destroy the abuse of drugs as it has an impact on the economy where these people are losing their lives because of the consumption of drugs such as Methamphetamine. The Permanent Secretary says through the workshop, they want to reduce the production and distribution of drugs and will require all stakeholders to play their role.
He further says the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, Fiji Police Force and faith-based organisations cannot do this alone and require efforts from everyone.
He adds that they want to draft legislation amendments and policy proposals to address identified gaps and challenges in Fiji regarding drugs, enhance capacity of law enforcement agencies through training programs and submit recommendations to the Cabinet.
The Principal Medical Officer of Saint Giles Hospital, Doctor Kiran Gaikwad confirms that approximately 80 percent of these cases were male patients. Gaikwad says this workshop will allow them to come together in solving this current national issue due to which many lives are affected.
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