By Ashraf Sadek CAIR, July 5, 2018 - The Ministry of Social Solidarity will build, equip and staff a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts in Minya Governorate, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the Minister of Social Solidarity, Ghada Wali. The planned 80-bed centre, which will cover an area of 9,720 square meters, will cost LE20 million to build and will be fully operational within six months, the statement said. The centre will be staffed by medical, psychological and psychiatric experts, who will treat more than 1,200 drug addicts a year, according to the statement. The centre, the first of its kind to be built in Minya, will have a set of adjacent facilities for teaching the patients a professional trade such as carpentry, house-painting, electricity and plumbing, once they are treated, the statement said. According to the statement, the new centre will also have sports and entertainment sections that will include a gym, a football pitch, a theatre and a cinema. The staff members of the new facility, it said, will use advanced medical and psychological methods for the treatment of drug addicts and for re-integrating them into society. The Ministry's Fund for Combatting Drug Abuse will bear the cost of building, equipping and running the centre, which will also have a hotline offering free medical and psychiatric consultancy and counselling services to addicts wanting to kick the bad habit. The Fund has built and equipped more than 23 similar centres in 13 governorates. Each one of these centres, was established in accordance with the New Beginning Initiative and has been treating more than 1,200 addicts per year. In addition, the centres – in collaboration with the Nasser Social Bank, have been offering soft loans to fully recovered addicts to help them launch small business ventures to help them make a living and turn them into active members of society.
