Government will open more facilities in four provinces to deal with substance abuse challenges.
Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga, who is also the chairperson of the Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster, said government is working to address the shortage of treatment centres in the country.
Currently, there are seven public substance abuse treatment centres but they are not ideally located to serve all provinces.
“We are in the process of establishing six additional treatment centres to ensure that each province has at least one public treatment facility. In the current financial year, government plans to open treatment centres in the Eastern Cape, North West, Limpopo and Free State.”
The Minister also highlighted the success of the Gender-Based Violence Command Centre (GBVCC).
Since January, the centre has received over 30 000 calls and provided telephonic counselling to thousands of victims of gender-based violence.
“These calls dealt with varied types of gender-based violence, such as domestic violence, rape, physical abuse, indecent assault, verbal abuse and intimidation, as well as abandoned children.”
Minister Motshekga added that for the country to defeat gender-based violence, all stakeholders should work together.
“It is critical to emphasise that gender-based violence can only be eradicated through collaborative efforts in all sectors of society.”
Email
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp