Chat with Dr Patrick Herminie, secretary of state for Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation |12 May 2017

‘The drug situation in our country is very complex’

It has been three months since President Danny Faure stated in his address to the Nation that “our foundation today is being eroded by drugs.  Drugs have become a societal problem.  As representatives of our population, you see the havoc that this has wreaked in our communities.  Our citizens also observe this problem, they are concerned by this issue, and they seek solutions. The solution is a radical change in the way we approach the problem:  A new approach which recognises that we need to wage two wars – one to reduce the quantity of drugs entering the country, and one to reduce the demand for drug consumption in the country.

In line with this, we will adopt a new strategy which reflects: (a) acceptance that addiction is a public health problem; (b) greater collaboration; (c) greater co-ordination; (d) increased capacity for rehabilitation and treatment; (e) a much bigger role for our prevention programme; (f) an increase in the resources dedicated to prevention and rehabilitation; and finally (g) strengthening our regional partnerships to allow for better co-ordination in our fight against drugs, and more specifically the control of our borders”.

Thus Dr Patrick Herminie was appointed secretary of state for Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation to look into this scourge that is destroying our society. Three months following his appointment, Dr Herminie gives us an overview of what his office has been doing and is planning to do in the coming months.

Seychelles NATION (SN): There have been criticisms out there that your office is not present enough on the field and also has not been doing much. How far will you agree or disagree with this?

Dr Herminie: It has only been three months that our office exists and people should understand that we cannot in three months solve a problem that have existed for the last 20 years! There are many who are just sitting and criticising us on social media or other platforms without having the knowledge of the magnitude of this problem and what it entails to deal with it. We have been on the field and have been meeting with the people in the districts to see for ourselves the extent of the problem. We realised that not all addicts are getting access to the services/help that exist in the community. The drug situation in our country is very complex and we need financial and human resources to tackle this issue.

SN: …and what was the observation during these meetings and visits?

Dr Herminie: After several visits in the hotspots/ghettos, we realised that there is a lack of human resources to work with the addicts. This is why we started training for some 25 peer educators to enhance their knowledge of substance abuse. This was organised by our office and the Ministry of Health and the Drug Users’ Network (PUDs).

SN: Is it not risky to get former addicts back on the field mingling with current addicts?

Dr Herminie: Nowadays we do not use the term a “recovered addict” but we use the term an “addict in recovery”. This means we always have to be on our guard. We also need to accompany the ex-addicts when they go back to the ghettos because he is going back to an environment that is apt to trigger a relapse. This had happened and will happen again. This is why we are taking participants who have been in a rehabilitation programme for at least 12 months. They are emotionally and mentally stronger.

SN: Are the peer educators being paid for their work?

Dr Herminie: It is not a salary but an honorarium fee that will be given to them. They also have to sustain themselves.

SN: Concretely what have you been doing so far in the last three months?

Dr Herminie: Our first observation was that there are different agencies working with the drug addicts piecemeal. Each one was fighting their own battle against this scourge. We have now realised today that it is not effective to function like that. We need to have a comprehensive programme that includes all. In this line, we will be coming up with the creation of an agency before the National Assembly with its entire legal framework. Once again we are going back to the government to get more financial support to run a credible programme.

SN: Any idea how many drug users are there in Seychelles and the drug situation?

Dr Herminie:  Unfortunately drugs are available everywhere in the country. We are working closely with the NDEA and more and more we need to put in lots of effort from all sides to remove drugs in the country. We have also discovered that new types of drugs are entering the country and we need to educate the population on that. Five years ago we did a survey and we recorded 1100 drug users through injection. My office has already asked for another survey to be done by a private consultant to assess the severity of the situation. Without concrete data, no programme will successfully work.

SN: Any update on the Methadone programme?

Dr Herminie: This programme is not producing the required results as we expected. Many of the participants dropped out and went back to heroine. It was a good try and we are learning from our mistakes. Another fact is that users have access to Methadone on the market and this is where we need to be more vigilant and become more disciplined. Although only the Ministry of Health who is authorised to import such a medicine, we really do not understand how many others have access to it. We will not eliminate the Methadone programme but in January 2018, we will introduce a new alternative which is the Buprenorphine. This medication limits craving and some countries are using it as substitution treatment. We are hopeful that this new medicine will bring better results and eventually see a change in behaviour in the community.

SN: Any upcoming programme?

Dr Herminie: As from June 1 we will relaunch the community programmes in three districts: Pointe Larue, Les Mamelles and Cascade. This will include the Methadone programme, spiritual programme, counselling, music and sports. With the collaboration of the Ministry of Employment, we will then put the participants at work from 1pm to 4pm.

Compiled by V. Gappy