The goal of the SEDAR Program is to rehabilitate those afflicted with drug addiction and reintegrate them into society, moving away from the penalisation of drug users towards a more compassionate approach.
PAUH Social Impact Program - Engagement
SEDAR Methadone Harm Reduction Program
A holistic approach to treating drug addiction
Providing those struggling with addiction with the support and guidance they need as they embark on their rehabilitation journey.
Stats & Progress
187,000
Money Raised (RM)
230,000
Goal Amount (RM)
81.3
Percent Funded
Partners
Program Overview
The scourge of drug abuse in Malaysia is a problem well-known to many, yet our approach to solving this social ill remains woefully outdated. Punitive approaches in the past have failed to make significant change, filling up our prison populations instead.
Medication assisted treatment uses anti-craving medicine such as methadone to address issues of opioid drug dependence. This treatment is offered alongside psycho-socio-spiritual assistance to ensure patients receive the social support and guidance they require on their rehabilitation journey.
Our Mobile Methadone Clinic will service three mosques: Masjid Saidina Abu Bakar as-Siddiq, Masjid Jamek Sungai Gelugor, and Masjid Terapung Tanjung Bungah. We mobilise and collaborate with the mosque qariah and volunteers to provide holistic treatment for our participants.
A strong focus of the program is to provide social support from the local community, alongside spiritual support from the mosques to mitigate relapses as well as to facilitate social reintegration. Our objective is to change the discourse surrounding drug addiction to recognise it as an illness to be cured.
Evidence-based Project
Harm reduction measures began in Portugal in the late 1980s. In the past 30 years, these efforts have led to dramatic drops in problematic drug use, HIV and hepatitis infection rates, overdose deaths, drug-related crime, and incarceration rates.
In 2009, University Malaya used this philosophy to create a holistic drug rehabilitation program known as Spiritually Enhanced Drug Addiction Rehabilitation (SEDAR). SEDAR was conducted at the ar-Rahman Mosque in Bangsar. This bio-psycho-socio-spiritual treatment successfully reduced participants’ dependence to opioids such as heroin by 30% as compared to current rehabilitation programs. We are now replicating and expanding this project to provide access and support to users across Penang island and the mainland.
Who Will Be Impacted?
Drug Users
They are provided with holistic rehabilitation involving social and communal support as well as a foundation in spirituality
The Community
The regular engagement will help humanise and normalise drug users within the community, allowing them to be seen as people who need medical help instead of criminals
Prison Wardens
Fewer individuals arrested for drug-related reasons reduces the burden on our already overcrowded prisons
What Are The Impacts?
- Provides a safe space for healing and rehabilitation for drug users in Penang
- Improves access to rehabilitation and treatment
- Provides social and spiritual support to individuals seeking rehabilitation
- Increases retention of rehabilitation programs by about 30% when compared to methadone treatments without a spiritual element
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PAUH Social Impact Agenda
Our programs under the PAUH Social Impact Agenda are committed to delivering transformational public services with a strong focus on positive social impact, sustainability and longevity.
Our comprehensive approach to public service keeps the rakyat at the heart of all we do, and is simultaneously mindful of the importance of building both infrastructure and capacity to truly uplift our target communities.
All Social Impact Programs
Modern, pesticide-free farming solutions to combat the looming spectre of climate change and food insecurity, while safeguarding the wellbeing of farmers and consumers.
Greening Permatang Pauh through our zero waste and environmental rebate initiatives at Yayasan Aman.
Rehabilitating those afflicted with drug addiction and reintegrating them into society, moving away from the penalisation of drug users towards a more compassionate approach.
Providing free tuition for B40 families in
Permatang Pauh.
Empowering local women through upskilling and entrepreneurship training.
Bringing affordable and sustainable cervical cancer screening to all Malaysian women.
A food aid programme that assists under B40 families by providing a monthly allowance for groceries.
Providing a social safety net for children in Permatang Pauh featuring education and health benefits.
Programs to gather feedback and increase people-to-government engagement.
Together We Can Build A Better Future For All
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