Ghada Waly inaugurates interactive workshop to decrease drug demand

CAIRO - 8 August 2017: Ghada Waly, minister of Social Solidarity, inaugurates Tuesday August 8 an interactive workshop for drug policy makers in association with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) which will last until August 10.

Participants include Amr Othman, director of the Fund for the Fight Against Addiction and Julian Jarasani, deputy regional representative and acting officer in charge of the United Nations Office, as well as many international experts in the field of drug abuse control.

Waly gave a speech at the opening of the workshop, in which she affirmed Egypt's commitment to the three international drug control treaties, which constitute the legal basis for the national drug control policies, and added that this workshop is the beginning of skill-building and technical support programs.

The minister also reviews some of the features of the national plan aimed at reducing the demand for drugs, which are implemented in cooperation with 11 ministries and a number of NGOs.

These features are implemented on several levels, including the preventive level through young volunteers, which number to 26 thousand volunteers from different provinces.

Ghada Waly is also the chairman of the Board of the Fund for Combating and Treatment of Addiction and Abuse which has recently run a successful media campaign featuring Mohamed Salah called “You are stronger than drugs.”