RO 1.6 m Suhar rehab centre completed

Muscat, March 20 - The Addiction Treatment & Rehabilitation Centre (Recovery centre) in Suhar constructed with the funding of Jusoor Foundation was handed over to the Ministry of Health on Wednesday. The handover ceremony was presided over by Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saidi, Minister of Health, in the presence of Shaikh Muhanna bin Saif al Lamki, Governor of North Al Batinah, members of the National Committee for Narcotics & Psychotropic Substances Affairs (NCNPSA) and officials of MOH and Jusoor. The Minister of Health pointed out that the Centre, which came in partnership between the Ministry of Health, Sohar Municipality and Jusoor Foundation, will be a specialised centre to rehab and treat the drug addicts in the Governorate.

The Minister hopes that this centre will help to take care of drug addicts and reduce the number of people infected with communicable diseases at the community level. He also thanked Jusoor, the Founding Companies and the MOH concerned officials for implementing this project.

Dr Mahmood bin Zahir al Abri, Senior Consultant and NCNPSA Rapporteur, stressed that the recovery centre will be a significant addition to the health and social services specialised in this field, where the number of cases recorded in the Addiction National Registry reached 6453 cases till the end of 2018.

“North Al-Batinah Governorate ranked second after Muscat Governorate accounting for 15 per cent of the total number of the cases. This number represents only the people who are seeking treatment and does not reflect the real problem of drug addiction and abuse in the Sultanate” Dr Mahmood said.

Omar Mohammed Al Abri, Acting Executive Manager at Jusoor pointed out that Jusoor recognises the importance of real partnership between the government and private sectors and the civil society, which considered as the three main pillars of the sustainable social and economic development.

Al Abri added that Jusoor (comprising Orpic, Vale and Sohar Aluminium) constructed the 39,687 square metre centre at a cost of RO 1,611,000. The Acting Executive Manager at Jusoor said that the centre is equipped with detoxification clinic, two recovery units with 40 beds, as well as administration building.

The Centre provides specialised services to treat and rehab the patients who suffer from drug addiction and abuse in North Al Batinah Governorate and neighbouring Governorates (South Al Batinah, Al Dhahirah and Al Buraimi Governorate).

The aim of the project is to bridge the gap between the services provided by the Ministry of Health and the public sector to recover the addicts and integrate them in the society through providing the after-care and rehabilitation services, as well as activating the role of the concerned government and civil authorities to participate in rehabilitation programmes. In addition to reducing the risk of relapse by focusing on improving the individual skills to change the lifestyles, enhancing the role of the civil society institutions to help the recovering addicts in order to integrate into the society, promoting independence and self-reliance.

The project has many buildings and units including admission units for 60 people in three buildings, counselling building, training and development ballrooms, a building for professional and craft training, and a prayer room for 100 persons. It also has outpatient clinics, administration building, maintenance and services building, multipurpose indoor and outdoor sports halls and others.