ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 15th Jun, 2021) The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) in Abu Dhabi has received certification from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, becoming the first rehabilitation centre in the Gulf and middle East region to earn the recognition.
The Centre was awarded the certificate as a Participant and Collaborative Centre’ after fulfilling all the requirements for participation in the ‘Drug and Substance Use Testing Laboratories’ programme.
NRC’s Clinical Toxicology Laboratory successfully passed all the tests and eligibility requirements as a highly qualified centre for qualitative and quantitative testing of drugs and narcotic substances in biological samples.
Director-General Dr. Hamad Abdullah Al Ghafri said, "This outstanding achievement solidifies the UAE’s prominent status and puts the emirate of Abu Dhabi at the forefront of Middle East’s efforts to promote mental health and prevent addiction. This accomplishment would not have been possible without the support of our wise leadership and their guidance that enable us to compete regionally and globally."
"The certification validates the outstanding services the Centre provides to the local community and raises its profile at a global level. Furthermore, it encourages us to work hard towards more achievements in the field of addiction control and treatment in future."
Obtaining the certification of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime as a ‘Successful and Collaborative Participant Centre’ requires the aspiring institute to participate in four consecutive courses in two cycles a year by receiving samples of unknown materials, and to perform the necessary steps towards analysing them for the detection and recognition of unknown component substances. The results must then be sent to the United Nations Office at Vienna for comparison and correction to determine the accuracy, quality and efficiency of the devices and methods used in extracting and analysing narcotic substances and toxins in the unknown and seized samples.
The duration of participation in the programme is two full years, and the participants need to fulfil all the requirements of the relevant authorities to pass the test and obtain the certification of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as a Participant and Collaborative Centre’ through its global programme.
The WHO in 2017 appointed NRC as a collaborative centre in the field of prevention and treatment of disorders resulting from the use of psychotropic substances, making the Centre the first addiction treatment centre in the UAE to receive this designation in the Middle East.
