Department of SJ & E will sensitize one crore people and NMBA will be opertionalized in all the districts across the Country within 100 days : Dr Virendra Kumar

Department of Social Justice & Empowerment under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment organized a programme to commemorate the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking at Dr.Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi on 26th June 2024 in the presence of Dr. Virendra Kumar, HMSJE, MoSs (SJ&E), Rajyogini BK Lakshmi, Delhi Zonal Coordinator, Brahma Kumaris and Senior officers of the Department.

Around 700 persons were physically present during the programme held in New Delhi and approximately 500 NGOs involving more than one lakh people were virtually connected.

Addressing the gathering, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar emphasized that the challenge of eradicating drug addiction requires everyone in the society to come together and fight for this social cause.

Further, he appreciated all the NGOs and spiritual organisations for creating awareness in the society against drug abuse. There is a need to spread awareness among the youth. He added that the Department will sensitize one crore people and NMBA will be opertionalized in all the districts across the Country within 100 days by the collective efforts of the society.

Minister of State, SJ&E, Shri Ramdas Athawale said that addiction to drug affects not only the individual consuming drugs, but also his/her entire family. He urged all the NGOs to work with full dedication in achieving the aim of Nasha Mukt Bharat and assured that the Ministry will support them in running their de-addiction centres.

Minister of State, SJ&E, Shri B.L. Verma in his speech, highlighted and appreciated the NAPDDR Scheme of the Ministry and explained how Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has helped in reducing the demand of drugs. He highlighted the achievements of NMBA.

Secretary, SJ&E in his welcome address highlighted the importance of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

 

A Nukkad Natak by Sukhmanch Theatre group wonderfully showcased the ill effects of drug addiction and how it adversely affects the entire society.

Background

Substance use disorder is an issue, which is adversely affecting the social fabric of the country. Dependence on any substance not only affects the individual’s health, but also disrupts their families and the whole society. Regular consumption of various psychoactive substances leads to dependence of the individual. Some substance compounds may lead to neuro-psychiatric disorders, cardiovascular diseases, as well as accidents, suicides and violence. Therefore, substance use and dependence needs to be viewed as a psycho-social-medical problem.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is the nodal Ministry for drug demand reduction in the country, which coordinates and monitors all aspects of drug abuse prevention, assessment of the extent of the problem, preventive action, treatment and rehabilitation of users, dissemination of information.

This Ministry has initiated ambitious Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) and is currently operational in all districts of the country with the  aim to create awareness about ill effects of substance abuse among the youth, with special focus on higher education institutes, university campuses, schools and reaching out into the community and garnering community involvement and ownership of the Abhiyaan.

Achievements of NMBA:

1. Till now, through the various activities undertaken on-ground, 11+ crore people have been sensitized on substance use including 3.50+ Crore Youth and 2.32+ Crore Women.
2. Participation of 3.35+ Lakh educational institutions has ensured that the message of the Abhiyaan reaches children and youth of the country.
3. A strong force of 8,000+ Master Volunteers (MVs) have been identified and trained.
4. Awareness through official Social Media accounts of the Abhiyaan on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
5. NMBA Mobile Application developed to gather and collect the data of NMBA activities and represent on the NMBA Dashboard at district, state and national level.
6. NMBA Website (http://nmba.dosje.gov.in) provides detailed information and insights to the user/viewer about the Abhiyaan, an online discussion forum, NMBA dashboard, e-pledge.
7. A National Online Pledge to be Drug Free had 1.67+ Crore students from 99,595 educational institutions pledging to be drug free.
8. Events like ‘Nashe se Azaadi- A National Youth and Students Interaction Programme’, ‘Naya Bharat, Nasha Mukt Bharat’, ‘NMBA Interaction with NCC’ are regularly organized to engage and connect with youth and other stakeholders.
9. MoUs have been signed with Spiritual/Social Service organizations like The Art of Living, Brahma Kumaris, Sant Nirankari Mission, Ram Chandra Mission (Daaji), ISKCON and All World Gayatri Parivaar to support to NMBA and conduct mass awareness activities.
10. Technology and Social media have been effectively utilized to spread the message of the Abhiyaan online by creating handles on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram and sharing daily updates on them.
11. An Android based mobile Application has been developed to capture the data of activities happening on ground on a real-time basis by the districts and master volunteers. This App has been placed on the Google Play Store.
12. All the de-addiction facilities have been geo-tagged for ease of access by the public.

Each year, 26^th June is observed as the “International Day against Drug Abuse & Illicit Trafficking”. The Ministry organised week-long online activities from 20.06.2024 to 26.06.2024 to commemorate International Day against Drug abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Some of such activities were Essay Writing Competition, promoting Yoga, Meditation and Mindfulness for a drug free lifestyle, showcasing best practices under NMBA, engaging university students to lead the Drug-free campaign, Leading from margins: Role of women in making Drug-free India etc.

All the States/UTs and DCs/DMs across the country were requested to take necessary steps for conducting/ organizing various programmes/ events such as rallies, cultural events, seminars, workshops, pledge along with wide publicity through media including social media platform against drug abuse under NMBA at the State as well as district level.