The Irada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation in Dubai has affirmed that community awareness is a cornerstone of drug prevention, noting that awareness messages now go beyond warning against drug use to empowering families with dialogue skills for conversations with their children, identifying early indicators of the problem, seeking help at the right time, and reducing the social stigma associated with treatment and recovery.
The centre stressed that addiction treatment is not a stigma, and that seeking help represents a courageous step towards recovery.
Coinciding with the International Day Against Drug Abuse, the centre emphasised that addressing the problem of substance use is a shared national and societal responsibility requiring the concerted efforts of relevant institutions and community support for preventive and awareness initiatives. This reinforces a comprehensive approach that goes beyond security-based responses to address root causes and open the doors of treatment and care to all those in need of support.
Latifa Mohammed, Head of the Awareness and Community Prevention Department at Irada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, said the centre marked the occasion through two awareness platforms: the first at City Centre Mirdif from 25 to 27 June, and the second at Dubai Hills Mall from 26 to 28 June.
Both platforms targeted various segments of the community through interactive awareness activities, dedicated prizes, and an on-the-spot consultation service for the public.
She added that the Dubai Hills Mall platform was implemented in cooperation with the International Protection Centre, which is affiliated with the General Department of Drug Control at Dubai Police General Headquarters, as part of efforts to strengthen institutional partnerships aimed at unifying awareness efforts and reaching the widest possible cross-section of the community. The centre established its platform at City Centre Mirdif within the framework of its community awareness programmes.
She affirmed that the centre seeks to entrench the name