Skip to main content

Prem Das Rai Calls for a People Centred Approach to Drug Abuse

By himalayanreview

Press Release
 Highlights Sikkim’s SAATHI Program as a Model Positive Intervention 
Sikkim Lok Sabha MP called for a fresh people centred approach to address the drug use issue through the lens of human rights and public health. He emphasized that when it comes to addressing drug abuse, the rights way is the right way.
Rai made these comments while participating in a special dialogue on “the right to health and safety of people who use drugs: importance of prevention, treatment and care”, which was organized to commemorate the World Human Rights Day on December 10, 2015. The event was hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for South Asia in collaboration with The Forum of Parliamentarians on HIV/AIDS (FPA) and the India HIV/AIDS Alliance.
Rai stated that interventions focused on drug abuse prevention, especially targeted at the youth, are the need of the hour, He called for harnessing the positive power of peer influence and highlighted Sikkim government’s SAATHI initiative as model program in this direction. He shared that SAATHI seeks to expand to 100 schools and aims to impact over 100,000 school students across Sikkim between 2016-2019.
Rai informed that over 25 students from Tadong, accompanied by 5 teachers, will be attending a sensitization session at the UNODC office on December 15, 2015. The session will focus on generating awareness about the health, social and economic implications of drug abuse.
SAATHI is a drug intervention programme under Chief Minister’s Youth Empowerment and Self Reliant Mission and works with students and teachers to spread positive influences. Rai is the Chairman of the Steering Committee overseeing the execution of the SAATHI program.
Answering a query on the need for evidence-based policy to tackle drug abuse, the Sikkim Lok Sabha MP highlighted the need to undertake continuous assessment of the trends and patterns of drug use. Rai stated that he has introduced a Private Member Bill to this effect – which calls for the need to conduct yearly surveys to understand the extent, pattern and trend of drug use.

Earlier, the event commenced with a welcome address by senior Rajya Sabha MP Oscar Fernandes, who chairs The Forum of Parliamentarians on HIV/AIDS (FPA). Participants at the dialogue include Christina Albertin, UNODC Representative for South Asia; Nagaland Lok Sabha MP Neiphiu Rio; Ghazala Meenai, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment; Dr. Neeraj Dhingra, Deputy Director General, National AIDS Control Organisation; Rajesh Nandan Srivastava, Additional Director General, National Academy of Customs Excise and Narcotics; Dr. SK Khandelwal, All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Simon Beddoe, Advocacy Officer, India-HIV Alliance, among others.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JANHA BAGCHA TEESTA RANGIT

By himalayanreview
This was a national song of Sikkim sung in the Nepali language during the monarchy system. During the merger with India, the song got banned and later re-released. Two words on the 8th para, which earlier said 'Rajah rah Rani,' were replaced with "Janmah bhumi."     This song was dedicated to the King and Queen of Sikkim. The song lyrics were penned by Sanu Lama, and the music was composed by Dushyant Lama.  The song was first sung on the birth anniversary of Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal on April 4, 1970, at Gangtok by Aruna Lama, Dawa Lama, and Manikamal Chettri.    JANHA BAGCHA TEESTA RANGIT,  JAHAN KANCHENDZONGA SEER   YEHI HO HAMRO DHANA KO DESH,  TAPAWAN HO PYARO SIKKIM     INTERLUDE     PHULCHAN YEHA AANGANAI MAA,  CHAAP , GURAS, SUNAKHARI   SWARGASARI SUNDAR DESH KO  HAMRO PYARO PYARO JANMAHBHUMI     JANHA BAGCHA……     BATASHLE BOKCHAA YAHA,  TATHAGAT KO AAMAR WAANI ...
16 comments
Read more

The legend of April "73" Agitation in Sikkim

By himalayanreview
I was not born when Sikkim got merged with the mighty Indian Union, but being a student of Sikkim History, all that is available to me is a rack of books by different authors and those old folks who had been part of that historical “April ‘73’ Agitation”.  When I go through the history of Sikkim, April ‘73 Agitation holds an important role, mostly as the turning point of the Independent Sikkim and the Sikkim State. The mass demonstrations against the Chogyal rule shocked the 300-year-old monarchy system and ushered in democratic rule in Sikkim.  The agitation was a result “due to big differences which ensued with the demand of repoll in one booth by Kazi Lhendup Dorji and Mr. Krishna Chandra Pradhan, as such the Chogyal had to face the people’s agitation launched by the Joint Action Committee with the tacit blessings of the Government of India. This people’s political movement spearheaded by Kazi Lhendup Dorji finally resulted in Sikkim joining the mainstream as the 22nd State...
2 comments
Read more

CBSE: ARUNACHAL PRADESH AND SIKKIM, PUSHED GUWAHATI TO FLOOR

By himalayanreview
Guwahati, June 1: When students in Delhi were flashing their 90 per cents and doing their high-fives, the Central Board of Secondary Education was looking for reasons for the below-par performance of students in the Guwahati region, comprising the seven states of the Northeast and Sikkim. Among the six regions where the board conducts Standard X examinations, Guwahati region has the lowest pass percentage - a mere 56 per cent. Ajmer region registered a staggering 93.87 pass per cent, the highest. A post-result analysis by the board revealed that poor performance by government schools in two states, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, pushed Guwahati to the bottom in the list. K.K. Choudhury, the regional officer of CBSE (Guwahati), said the two states pulled down the pass percentage of the entire region. "We have four categories of schools - government schools, independent (private) schools, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas. The pass percentage of independent schools,...
1 comment
Read more