Covid hits lone de-addiction project for women

Jalandhar, June 26

State’s flagship de-addiction project for women, touted as a success story until six months ago, is now faced with staff shortage and dwindling numbers in the middle of the Covid pandemic.

The project has witnessed a drop in the number of women receiving de-addiction services at Kapurthala — from 241 receiving services initially to 45 now. Mobilised and funded by NGO HIV/AIDS Alliance for two years, the project witnessed success as women began turning up for de-addiction treatment in large numbers as a result of direct outreach by former drug dependents and staff.

But with six members — including one counsellor, staff nurse, manager each and three outreach workers — leaving after the project ended in December, women are now shying away from turning up.

After the NGO left, the state government has failed to provide additional workers to sustain the project. The Outreach Programme for Women Drug Users — a project run under the HIV/AIDS Alliance at the Navkiran Kendra in Kapurthala — was started in February 2019 and ended on December 31, 2020. The project provided nine (of total 15) WHO-approved de-addiction services under one roof as well community mobilisation services.

Rehabilitated drug dependents from the North-East came to Kapurthala and visited women addicts across various hotspots, hearing their stories and accompanying them to centres. They held workshops for women and 10 drug dependents from Kapurthala were even taken to Delhi for one such event. However, the much-needed boost to women de-addiction services came to an abrupt halt when the NGO wrapped up its project on the completion of its tenure.