Combating crack cocaine in Rio will receive investments of R$ 240 million.
Resources from all three levels of government, up to 2014; agreement signed this Friday increases the supply of health treatment, combats drug trafficking and prevents drug use; nationwide, investments total R$ 4 billion.
247 - The three levels of government are united in the fight against crack cocaine in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The use of the drug is considered an epidemic in Brazil, according to the Ministry of Health. The city of Rio de Janeiro and the state government formalized, this Friday (13), their adherence to the federal government's program 'Crack, it is Possible to Overcome'. The objective is to increase the supply of health treatment and care for drug users, to confront trafficking and criminal organizations and to expand prevention activities. Investments in the fight against crack cocaine, adding the resources from the three levels of government, reach R$ 245,75 million. Through the Federal Government program, the municipality will receive R$ 4,25 million in 2012, in addition to an investment of R$ 1,3 million, which has already been transferred since January. For the State of Rio, the transfer should reach R$ 240 million by 2014. In the whole country, R$ 4 billion is allocated to combat the epidemic.
The ceremony took place at the City Palace in Botafogo, in the southern part of Rio. Mayor Eduardo Paes, Governor Sérgio Cabral, and the Ministers of Health and Justice, Alexandre Padilha and José Eduardo Cardozo, signed the documents establishing the terms for receiving the funds. Paes also announced the creation of the Local Committee for the Management of the Crack Control Plan, complementing Governor Sérgio Cabral's act, which creates a State Commission to Support Municipalities in the Fight Against Crack and Drugs in General.
In his speech, Paes highlighted the importance of the partnership between the city hall and the Public Prosecutor's Office in combating crack cocaine. "The crack cocaine issue isn't just a police matter. And the Municipal Secretariat of Social Assistance tackled the problem in partnership with the Public Prosecutor's Office, implementing compulsory hospitalization here in Rio. We need to remove all ideological debate from this issue. If we don't address this topic with our children and friends, the State will hardly be able to solve the problem, which affects the whole of society," stated the mayor.
The Attorney General of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio de Janeiro, Claudio Soares Lopes, present at the event, highlighted the joint effort of the municipal, state, and federal governments. "Crack cocaine is a public health issue. That's why the Public Prosecutor's Office supports and applauds this partnership between the various levels of government. Only together do we have a chance of victory," declared Lopes.
The Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha, accompanied an outreach operation by the Municipal Secretariat of Social Assistance in the early hours of Friday morning in the Central do Brasil and Cidade do Samba areas in the city center. He stated that crack cocaine has become a national epidemic and praised the work of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, as well as the commitment of the professionals involved in the collection and care of addicts. "If in every city we have public servants as committed as those I saw yesterday, we will give a very clear demonstration that it is possible to overcome crack cocaine. Technically, this drug is already an epidemic in our country, surpassing the regions and risk groups where it was normally concentrated. Recognizing this reality and the challenges it brings in the field of health is the first step to overcoming it," said Padilha.
The crack cocaine combat program will create six new Psychosocial Care Centers in the state of Rio de Janeiro, providing 24-hour service. Eight other units, already in operation, will also begin providing 24-hour care for alcohol and drug use cases. Additionally, 427 new beds will be created in specialized and qualified wards, in addition to 71 existing beds in general hospitals, and 27 new street clinics will be established, as well as improvements to 8 existing clinics.
Rio will also benefit this year with new services. Two adult shelters, in Jacarezinho and Santo Amaro, and two child and adolescent shelters, also in Jacarezinho and Bangu. By 2014, 57 units of the first type and 20 of the second are planned throughout the state. This year, Rio will have 20 new beds in specialized wards and four street clinics for the care of crack addicts. In the state, there will be 427 new beds in specialized wards.
At the end of the ceremony, the Municipal Secretary of Social Assistance, Rodrigo Bethlem, gave an overview of the city hall's actions in the compulsory sheltering of dependent minors. "In May, we completed one year of agreement with the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Justice system to compulsorily shelter children and adolescents found in life-threatening situations. To date, we have opened 178 places for children and adolescents, and today we have 117 in this compulsory sheltering regime, plus another dozen children who have been reintegrated into their families or foster families," Bethlem stated.
Before Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco and Alagoas had already formalized their adherence to the program, which follows three pillars: prevention, care (treatment), and authority (confronting drug trafficking). This set of actions to combat crack and other drugs was announced on December 7th by President Dilma Rousseff in Brasília, and foresees R$ 4 billion in federal resources until 2014.