THE Opposition has welcomed new youth rehabilitation initiatives but warned the Government must prove they are delivering results and reaching vulnerable children across Fiji.
Opposition MP Virendra Lal said the growing involvement of children and young people in drugs and alcohol was no longer simply an individual problem.
“When children are becoming involved with drugs and alcohol, and when this is accompanied by mental health problems, violence, crime, and the breakdown of families, we are no longer dealing simply with an individual problem,” Mr Lal said.
He welcomed the establishment of Na Sala Vou, a residential recovery facility for adolescent boys, as well as work with the Kauwai Youth Restoration Centre.
However, he said rehabilitation alone would not solve the problem.
“If we concentrate our resources on treating young people after they have become addicted, while failing to address the circumstances that expose them to drugs and alcohol, then we will continue dealing with the consequences rather than the causes.”
Mr Lal called for stronger prevention strategies in schools, homes, settlements, villages and communities.
He also questioned whether the Government’s Bebbo Pacific parenting application would reach the families most in need.
“An application on a mobile phone cannot replace an involved parent, a counsellor, a social worker or a functioning family support system.”
Mr Lal called for clear national targets and measurable outcomes, including data on young people referred for rehabilitation, program completion and long-term recovery.
“The measure of success will not be on how many programs we announce or applications we launch, but whether fewer children become trapped in substance abuse and more families receive help before reaching breaking point.”
