The Cagayan de Oro (CDO) local government unit (LGU) was recognized at the first-ever Healthy Pilipinas Awards for Healthy Communities hosted by the Department of Health (DOH) to honor LGUs. Winning LGUs are those that have put up model healthcare programs targeting the 7 Priority Areas in DOH’s Health Promotion Framework Strategy. These include Nutrition and Physical Activity, Environmental Health, Immunization, Substance Use, Mental Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health, and Violence and Injury Prevention.
Cagayan de Oro won in Priority Area 4, Substance Use, The Kontra Droga rehabilitation and aftercare program was lauded for its holistic approach towards a sensitive and controversial area of public health.
CDO’s program began in 2016, following the administration’s declaration of war against illegal drugs. Government agencies, non-government organizations, volunteers, and the Catholic Archdiocese came together with the CDO LGU to target the problem head-on. A City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) was appointed to advise the LGU on handling the drug problem. This included planning anti-drug abuse programs and creating the Oro Citizen’s Wellness and Development Center (OCWDC) which implements and executes regulations based on directives from the CADAC.
One of the OCWDC’s tasks is to spearhead the Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation Program (CBDRP), and Aftercare Program for Persons Who Use Drugs (PWUDs) in the community. What sets their program apart is how they look beyond the immediate issue, addressing not just the drug use but the societal and economic effects. Their well-rounded approach emphasizes the PWUDs’ wellness and wellbeing, but also that of his family and community, in full awareness that this condition is too challenging to overcome alone.
The program focuses on building family and community awareness and support for recovering persons who use drugs (RPWUDs) and their families.
The Rehabilitation Program includes relevant services catering to the client’s needs, following an evaluation of their condition. Among other services, the CBDRP provides psychoeducation and psychosocial support on relapse prevention, the role of the recovering individual, family, and the community, effective ways to identify and avoid triggers, and life skills and techniques to prevent drug addiction. The program also focuses on building family and community awareness and support for recovering persons who use drugs (RPWUDs) and their families, as well as strengthening community structures and organizations to prevent addiction and support RPWUDs. Lastly, they make sure to provide activities and work that help PWUDs avoid using drugs, like values formation and sport-related activities.
In Aftercare, they assess the needs of the RPWUD, coordinate service providers to support RPWUDs and their families, provide skills training for employment and provide livelihood interventions.
It doesn’t stop there – following the Rehabilitation Program, the CDO LGU also provides an Aftercare Program for those RPWUDs who have successfully completed their Rehabilitation Program. In Aftercare, they assess the needs of the RPWUD, coordinate service providers to support RPWUDs and their families, provide skills training for employment, provide livelihood interventions and access to scholarships.
Both the Rehabilitation and Aftercare Program are strengthened by 4 elements the LGU upholds: conscientization, or boosting awareness of drug use and changing how those suffering from substance abuse are viewed; community education, or encouraging learning and social engagement to address the issue; community organization, by ensuring all barangays are participating in the program; and community resource management, to help pinpoint essential roles within the community that might help in the implementation and participation of the program.
Currently, there are 1,586 people enrolled in the CBDRP. 1,137 have completed the CBDRP. 860 are endorsed to the Aftercare Program and 429 have completed it. The program runs in all 80 barangays of the city.
The CDO LGU is set to get their PWUDs’ lives not just back on track, but steadfastly on that path of recovery with effective, detailed, and award-winning programs. The Healthy Pilipinas Award is a win not just for the LGU office, but for the whole of CDO, who benefits from a safer, all-encompassing, and understanding approach to drug use on the community level.
ADVT.