By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: The juvenile welfare department organized on Sunday a drug prevention training workshop coinciding with the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, under the slogan "Protecting our youth is our responsibility". Assistant Undersecretary for Social Welfare at the Ministry of Social Affairs Musallam Al-Subaei said social welfare has been keen to highlight this dangerous drug phenomenon that makes families suffer. "Preventing drug addiction and raising awareness of its danger is one of Kuwait's priorities," he said.

Assistant Undersecretary for Social Welfare at the Ministry of Social Affairs Musallam Al-Subaie speaks during the workshop.

Subaei stressed the importance of confronting the drug phenomenon with the negative risks it poses to the individual and society, encouraging institutions to cooperate in order to confront drug addiction issues and continue their efforts in this field by issuing national legislation and projects to achieve security and psychological and social stability. He affirmed the ministry's keenness to find appropriate solutions through training workshops that would be an addition to the state's efforts to limit the spread of drugs in the society.

Director of the Juvenile Welfare Department Jassem Al-Kandari said the issue of drug abuse and addiction is one of the most important problems facing the entire world, as it has serious dimensions and effects in destroying the individual, family and society. "The drug phenomenon is one of the negative phenomena prevalent in Kuwaiti society. Studies and statistics show that numbers of addicts are constantly increasing, making it important for competent authorities in the country to shed light on this phenomenon to study its motives and how to confront it and protect society from it," he noted.

Director of the Juvenile Welfare Department Dr Jassem Al-Kandari addresses the audience.

Kandari pointed out that the juvenile care department is responsible for young people, whether they are delinquents or prone to delinquency. "We found the number of cases of abuse during the past four years exceeded 150 cases, which led to the establishment of specialized training courses to educate workers and community members to identify the causes of abuse, combat negative phenomena prevalent in Kuwaiti society, and protect the Kuwaiti family," he added.

The Ministry of Social Affairs launches a four-day training workshops for drug prevention. It will include a set of eight training courses provided by specialists representing government agencies and relevant NGOs in this aspect from June 26-29. The workshops on Sunday discussed ways how to deal with an addict, how to deal with juvenile abuse in schools, how to treat cases of abuse and addiction and the role of the juvenile care department in rehabilitating cases of addiction.