Malta To Have Its First Extensive Study On Drug Use After Research Project Gets Funding
Funding has been approved for an extensive and revolutionary research study into drug use among children and young people in Malta.
The study, to be conducted by the University of Malta Faculty for Social Wellbeing, will be funded by the Save A Life Foundation and act as a comprehensive understanding of the extent of this issue for the first time ever in the country.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of March 2021 with the conclusions of the research intended to serve as a basis for an educational campaign targeting children, young people and parents supported by both voluntary organisations and digital media.
Speaking on the topic, PN MP Claudio Grech explained that the project, which has been in the foundation’s sights for many years, was in their interest to understand “the factors that lead young people to drug abuse and what measures we can take to counter this phenomenon.”
Grech went on to emphasise that the project, which will be led by a team of academics who specialise in this field, is necessary to “send a clear signal and address the situation with concrete action.”
Having first been elected in 2013, Grech has dedicated all of his parliamentary honoraria towards projects of the Save A Life Foundation.
Thanks to this, a total of €160,000 have gone towards funding 10 initiatives that empower children and young people to further encourage them towards contributing to their communities.
“Every initiative that helps to strengthen our communities is beneficial – but when it is aimed at helping those who find themselves in the most difficult situations, it becomes a noble act,” said Professor Andrew Azzopardi, Dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing. “This partnership will help us realise that not only drug users suffer from substance abuse, but society as a whole. Today we are signing a pact of wellbeing for the community.”
Grech emphasised the immense “anguish of parents who have lost their children to drugs is the greatest form of suffering”, which brings devastation both towards families and the community as a whole.
It is the hope of both Grech and his wife, who set up the foundation together, that this research can lead towards the creation of a “support mechanism to help them get back on track and make a success for themselves.”
He concluded by stating that even if the efforts and results of the research “help to save just one life, it would have laid a firm foundation for the future.”
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