Solidarity Min. signs protocol to counter media drug scenes

CAIRO - 12 September 2017: Minister of Social Solidarity, Ghada Wali, on Tuesday signed a conference cooperation protocol with Makram Mohamed Ahmed, head of Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation, to counter the misuse of substance abuse and addiction in the media.

The conference was attended by Amr Othman, the director of the organization for treatment of addiction and abuse along with the Egyptian actress Samira Ahmed.

During the conference, Wali stated that this protocol aims to take all the necessary steps to activate an ethical code relating to the treatment of substance abuse and addiction.
Those codes were decided in 2015 under President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. He also established the necessary standards and controls to ensure the adherence of the media to professional ethics, freedom of art, creativity, and public interest.

A total of 5,000 scenes featuring smoking and drug abuse have been aired in TV series in the last three years of the holy month of Ramadan, Wali said pointing out that that this is considered a serious attack against the country.

She stated that the Ministry of Social Solidarity recorded 2,428 scenes of smoking and drug abuse in dramas aired during the 2017 month of Ramadan this far, in a total of 56 hours and 33 minutes.

She added that scenes of addiction and abuse in the Ramadan dramas are exaggerated and do not reflect reality. He also stressed that drugs are a type of terrorism.

Othman also said that the Media Observatory of the Social Solidarity Fund has prepared a “black list” of dramas that contained a high number of smoking and drug addiction scenes.

At the top of the list was “Herbaya”, staring Haifa Wehbe. Drugs and smoking were shown a total of 1 hour and 58 minutes, and was closely followed by “Ard Gaw” serious in a total of one hour and 30 minutes.

Wali at last stressed that the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the state's Addiction Treatment and Abuse Fund have full determination to address this phenomenon of addiction and abuse in society.