Promote development to fight drug abuse - UN Secretary General
Sathyakriyawa to mark Anti-Narcotic Day
A Sathyakriyawa will be held tomorrow in front
of the Dharmapala statue at the Viharamaha Devi Park by the Sri Lanka
Temperance Association in collaboration with other organizations to
coincide with the International Anti Narcotic Day which falls today.
The program will begin with a walk starting
opposite the D S Senanayake statue, at Independence Square. Ven. Dr.
Omalpe Sobitha Thera will conduct the Sathyakriyawa.
Development and fighting drug use must go hand in hand, UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon said in his message on the International Day against
Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking which falls today.
The message reads:
“As we prepare for this September’s United Nations Summit on the
Millennium Development Goals, we must recognize the major impediment to
development posed by drug abuse and illicit trafficking. As this year’s
theme it is time to “Think Health, Not Drugs.”
“Drug abuse poses significant health challenges. Injecting drug use
is a leading cause of the spread of HIV. In some parts of the world,
heroin use and HIV have reached epidemic proportions. Drugs
control-including prevention and measures to reduce the harmful effects
of drug use-is an important part of the battle to combat HIV/AIDS.
“Drug are a threat to the environment. Coca cultivation destroys vast
swathes of Andean rain forest-as well as national parks. Chemicals used
to make cocaine poison local streams.
“To break this vicious circle, it is essential to promote development
in drug-growing regions. Our work to achieve the MDGs and fight drugs
must go hand-in-hand.” |