National Narcotics Control Bureau

The Bureau

The National Narcotics Control Bureau (NNCB) originated in 1997 as the Narcotics Control Board. Its first and main task was to run and develop the Drug Rehabilitation Center in Himmafushi. Later NNCB’s mandate was broadened to include drug prevention programs. Still later, in 2005 the mandate was further broadened to include the coordination of drug supply reduction activities as well.

Currently the National Narcotics Control Bureau is responsible for overall coordination of all aspects of the response against drugs. It is the single agency responsible for drug rehabilitation and the main agency responsible for drug prevention. The primary responsibilities of NNCB are demand reduction, awareness building, treatment, rehabilitation and liaison with international agencies. It is advised by three high level policy committees, one focusing on treatment, one on supply reduction and the other on more general drug control matters.

The work of the NNCB falls under four main sections:
Section A: administrative, legal;
Section B: training, finances, and foreign relations;
Section C: treatment and rehabilitation; and
Section D: drug prevention.

The Challenge

Illicit drugs are a global impediment to the social and economic development of nations. The impact of the drug scourge has been particularly severe on the Maldives, threatening her prosperity, good health, and indeed her whole future.

In the past decade we have intensified our efforts to stop the drug menace. But we, as a nation, need to do even more to ensure that criminals, who put their own interests before those of the nation, do not take our common heritage away from us.

The lesson we learn from other countries is that drug abuse is a hydra-like multifaceted issue. It requires a balanced well-coordinated multi-sectoral approach, encompassing measures to stop illicit drugs from entering the country and to reduce the demand for them. Both these aspects are equally important and need to be given the same, high priority.

We, therefore, call upon all Maldivians, as indeed the international community, to support fully our efforts to eliminate the scourge of illicit drugs from the Maldives and beyond our borders. This is the challenge and we must commit ourselves to this challenge.