Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve ,Victoria Falls Reporter
AN eight-year-old child is among four patients currently receiving treatment at the newly established Drug and Rehabilitation Centre in Victoria Falls, highlighting the severity of the country’s escalating drug abuse crisis.
This shocking predicament was unraveled during a visit to the facility at Chinotimba Clinic by this news crew and local council officials who manage the centre.
The admission of a minor of such a tender age has sent shockwaves through the community, highlighting how the scourge of substance abuse is trapping increasingly younger victims.
The facility, which has become operational following a ZWG$1.8 million disbursement from the Government, represents a critical step in combating drug abuse in the tourism city.
Victoria Falls Town Clerk, Mr Ronnie Dube, confirmed the child’s admission while providing an update on the centre’s development.
“The project of the drug rehabilitation centre, which is situated in Chinotimba Clinic is complete, it has been done and it has been completed
“We partnered with the Minister of Health and the Government contributed ZWG1.8 million for the project which was a big kickstart and we really appreciate that kind of contribution,” said Mr Dube.
Mr Dube indicated that while final furnishing touches are underway, the centre is fully functional.
“We have four inmates currently that we are attending to, the youngest being eight years old. We anticipate that, as the word goes that we now have this kind of a facility, we will have several inmates because the problem that has besieged the country, of drug abuse will also have a big time in the turn of it.”
He praised the Government’s directive for local authorities to establish such facilities, calling it a vital initiative.
An effort to get further clinical details from the District Medical Officer was unsuccessful.
She declined to comment, stating that divulging specific information about a patient would be a serious violation of professional ethics and patient confidentiality.
The presence of an eight-year-old in rehabilitation highlights the challenges ahead and underscores the urgent need for robust preventative community programmes to protect the nation’s youth, even as treatment centres like the one in Chinotimba begin their crucial work.
