Bhubaneswar: The State Government has asked all districts to submit an action plan Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA), an initiative of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The Department of Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) has asked the District Social Security Officers (DSSOs) to submit the NMBA Action Plan to the Union Ministry soon.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had launched the NMBA campaign in 272 districts across the country on August 15, 2020 with an 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.
Taking forward the message of the campaign, MoSJE has decided to extend the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) across all districts of Odisha.
The funds for implementation of NMBA will be routed through the State Action Plan under the NAPDDR (National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction).
Therefore, the DSSOs have been asked to constitute the District Level Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan Committee at their respective Districts at the earliest for monitoring and implementation of the activities.
The districts that have not opened a zero-balance subsidiary account under NAPDDR were instructed to open an account and intimate the same to the SSEPD Department.
The State has issued this instruction to the DSSOs after receiving a letter from MoSJE Joint Secretary B Radhika Chakravartthy.
A wide range of activities under the banner of NMBA have been undertaken across the country with the participation of youth, children, educational institutions, women and the community. Till now through these activities & events, NMBA has been able to sensitize, educate and inform 10+ crore people on substance use across the country, the Joint Secretary said.
Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan is a three-pronged attack combining the supply curb by the Narcotics Control Bureau, Outreach and Awareness and Demand Reduction effort by Social Justice and Empowerment and treatment through Health Department.
The main objective of the Action Plan is to create awareness generation programmes, focus on higher educational institutions, university campuses and schools, reaching out into the community and identifying dependent populations, focus on counselling and treatment facilities in hospitals and rehabilitation centres and capacity building programmes for service providers.