ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The University of Duhok has established a center for treating and rehabilitating drug addicts, as authorities ramp up efforts to counter the use of narcotics in the Kurdistan Region. 

“As the University of Duhok, we have opened a center for treating substance abuse addicts. Another part of this center is related to training a class with the aim of spreading awareness among individuals,” Dilshad Hakim, vice president of Duhok University, told The New Region on Wednesday. 

Iraq, with its extensive borders with Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, has evolved from a transit route to a significant consumption market. Authorities in both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, however, have redoubled their efforts to root out the problem. 

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has repeatedly stated that Erbil is intensifying efforts to combat the drug phenomenon. In November 2024, Barzani laid the foundation of a drug rehabilitation center in the Region’s capital of Erbil. 

In May, the Kurdistan Region’s anti-narcotics directorate told The New Region that the number of drug traffickers and the availability of illicit drugs in the Region have significantly declined.

The center was opened as part of a joint initiative between Duhok University and the University of Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany, Bahar Sulaiman, a psychotherapy expert familiar with the matter, told The New Region. 

“This center has psychiatrists and social researchers. Addicts at this center are treated in several stages and receive daily treatment and return home,” Sulaiman said. 

In 2023, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani directed the establishment of drug rehabilitation centers across all Iraqi provinces, an initiative that excludes the Kurdistan Region. 

Iraqi authorities arrested around 14,500 suspects on drug-related charges in 2024 and issued death sentences for 144 suspected drug traffickers. At least 454 others were sentenced to perpetual imprisonment (20 years in Iraqi law), according to official data.