Aparna Banerji
Jalandhar, October 9
Even as a viral video of an alleged woman drug user lying dishevelled on a bench in Kapurthala brought to the fore the glaring scenario of addiction among women in Punjab, the failure of the state’s flagship de-addiction project for women has not been able to draw the government’s attention.
The state’s only de-addiction centre for women, a success story until a year ago, of late witnessed a decline in the number of patients, thanks to government apathy. The centre which had 241 patients enrolled with it, currently has only 35.
The woman whose video went viral was one of the 241 registered drug users, but she dropped out due to lack of outreach staff. Despite repeated requests, the government failed to deploy more staff. The last request was sent a few months before the elections earlier this year.
The centre, started by HIV/AIDS Alliance for two years (2019-20), was a pilot project for SAARC countries. With six staffers left after the project’s term ended in December 2020, the number of patients dwindled.
Funded by the Global Fund, the project was meant to be replicated in SAARC nations, besides Thailand and the Philippines. Dr Sandeep Bhola, consultant psychiatrist at the centre, said, “The NGO did a good job and women used to turn up in decent numbers. After it left, the government was asked for additional outreach staff, but in vain. We are even willing to undergo cost-cutting and manage with just three more workers.”
“As per conservative estimates, there are 60,000-80,000 women drug users in the state, but we have only 30-35 under treatment at the centre,” Dr Bhola added.
Govt apathy to blame
Once a success story, centre sees dip in number of patientsOf the 241 addicts listed last year, most dropped out due to lack of outreach staffDespite requests, government failed to employ more staffersStarted by HIV/AIDS Alliance, the project was meant to be replicated in SAARC nations
