29-year-old man who died yesterday was the latest victim of the country’s heroin epidemic.

22:50 Maldives 0 Comments

29-year-old man who died yesterday was the latest victim of the country’s heroin epidemic. In the past month, a total of five drug addicts have died either from heroin overdoses or suicide; four out of the five addicts received treatment at Himmafushi rehabilitation centre run by the department of rehabilitation services (DRS).
The family of the 29-year old said he had been struggling with addiction for four years.They added he had been acting strangely in the early hours of Saturday morning and was taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial hospital after complaining of breathing difficulties.Doctors at IGMH informed the family he had died of a heroin overdose.On 20 March, Abdullah Shiham, 33, an inmate at Maafushi jail serving a 25-year sentence for drug possession, was found dead in his cell.Police have since confirmed he died of a benzodiazepine overdose.A forensic examination of drugs seized recently revealed that heroin sold on the streets was laced with benzodiazepine, a class of psychoactive drugs, according to police.
The combination of benzodiazepine with opiates is known to lead to coma and even death.A week after Shiham’s death, a 33-year old woman hanged herself in Male’. According to her family, she had been in the local rehabilitation centre some years ago and had been sent abroad for treatment on many different occasions. She committed suicide two months after police caught her with a small amount of heroin and was subsequently fired from her job.
The night before, on 24 March, police rescued a drug addict in Male’ as he attempted to hang himself.Earlier this month, another drug addict, a 29-year old woman, was found hanged at her house. She was reportedly denied the chance of rehabilitation by the authorities.Two other drug addicts have died in the past month of heroin overdoses.But, a DRS official told Minivan News today they do not provide any information to the press.
Following the deaths, the health ministry called a meeting this afternoon with three local NGOs – Journey, Fanas and Society of Woman Against Drugs – organised by the president’s office.After extensive discussions where the NGOs presented policy papers, the ministry decided to hold a forum with all relevant government bodies and other stakeholders to take immediate measures as well as draw up long-term plans to tackle the problem. Speaking to Minivan News today, deputy home minister Dr Abdullah Waheed said most young people were caught between extremes of radical Islam and the drug culture, which contributed to growing social and cultural tensions.“There are no acceptable forms of entertainment available to youth.”Conservative estimates put the number of drug addicts in the country at 10,000, Dr Waheed said, but existing facilities could only provide treatment for 200 addicts every year.The government was currently in the process of drawing up broader and more inclusive rehabilitation programmes as well as revising the penal code and drug laws. But, local NGO, Journey, has criticised the government for not producing any results since coming to power.
The new government has not reviewed the programme or the model used by DRS for the past 11 years, said Mohamed Arif, chairperson of Journey.Despite the good quality of infrastructure and facilities at the rehabilitation centre, the programme does not offer adequate aftercare services.“We need a comprehensive programme to deal with all the underlying problems.”95 per cent of addicts who seek rehabilitation in the country relapse into drug use, Arif said. According to the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party manifesto, there are an estimated 30,000 drug addicts in Maldives.