The Public Relations Officer of the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDEA), ASP Abdoulie Ceesay, recently headed a three-man Gambian delegation to Ghana to attend the first experts meeting on drug demand and reduction organised by the ECOWAS Commission from 17 to 19 May 2011.
Speaking in an interview with this paper shortly after his return, ASP Ceesay said the meeting was centred on prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.
Its main objective, he said, was to review the drug abuse situation in ECOWAS Member States, and discuss the various approaches used for data collection and analysis to agree on a common drug assessment tools as foreseen in the ECOWAS drug operational plan.
He also pointed out that the recommendations of the meetings of coordinators of the Inter- Ministerial Drug Control committee was held in Benin from 30 November to 2 December 2010.
He stated that all the member States that made their country's presentation expressed the lack of political support but for the case of The Gambia this was never a problem.
"The government is very committed to the fight against drugs and is given the NDEA all the necessary support in this area," he said.
He stated that the government has donated vehicles to the NDEA and has built a good office for them and provides them additional staff.
He says the NDEA is thinking of setting up regional anti-drug sensation committees in all the administrative regions in the country and this would comprise security personnel, community leaders, youth organizations, nurses and teachers among others.
At this meeting, PRO Ceesay was accompanied by two other Gambians, namely Anne Marie Mendy, departmental matron at the Tanka Tanka Psychiatric Hospital, and Alpha Jallow coordinator of the West African Community Training Centre.
