The Seychelles government has set up a new task force to fight the rise of social ills especially abuse of alcohol and hard drugs.
Speaking at the launch on Tuesday, Health and Social Development Minister Marie-Pierre Lloyd said the creation of the task force is the result of concerns raised during the recent district consultative meetings with Seychelles President James Michel about the rise of social problems in the community.
She indicated that the main role of the task force will be to identify youths and families at risk and link them up to programs that meet their needs.
It will also set up procedures on how to tackle situations where service providers and the police will have to intervene.
Lloyd added that the task force will be made up of police officers, social workers, district administrators, youth workers and school counselors.
Support agencies such as the National Council for Children and the Drug and Alcohol Council will have to play a very active part in order to curb the constant rise of the abuse of alcohol and drugs among the young population, she added.
With the setting-up of the task force, more direct action will be carried out to deal with these issues, she added.
Source African Press Agency
