Women, Childhood, and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, reported a decline in teenage pregnancies in Sarawak, from 2,481 cases in 2016 to 1,760 cases as of October 2023.
The Dalat assemblywoman emphasised the crucial role of the One Stop Pregnancy Committee (OSTPC) in this decrease, highlighting their collaboration in implementing 66 integrated social intervention programmes, including Kesedaran dan Advokasi Pendidikan Seksual (KAPS), in schools and the community since 2016.
In a related development, Fatimah added that there has been an increase in the ratio of help-seeking behavior for substance use and use disorder.
“From 1:10 in 2016 to 1:5 in 2022. This ratio is better than the international index of 1:6 reported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
“The role of the Sarawak One Stop Committee (OSC) in addressing drugs and substance abuse is vital as members collaborate to implement supply control and drug demand reduction (DDR) activities through integrated, comprehensive, balanced, coordinated, and evidence-based approaches. To provide easy access to treatment and recovery support services for those affected by substance use, 20 One Stop Centre for Addiction (OSCA) at selected health clinics (the highest number in Malaysia) and two Community Development and Intervention Centres (CDIC) in Bau and Dalat have been established,” she said during her winding-up speech for the 2024 State Budget at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting here, today (Nov 28).
Furthermore, she added, the ministry, through the effort of the Sarawak government, has earned the DDR Stewardship Award from the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP) GLOBAL at the International Recovery Symposium (IRS) 2023.
“Recently, the Ministry was entrusted to lead the Asian Recovery Network, a platform for professionals, associations, and organisations to network and collaborate on addiction treatment, recovery, and rehabilitation support services,” she added.
