Funding For Drug Abuse Prevention Dries Up

A mere 1% of the health budget is spent on drug abuse issues. Even worse just 1% of that 1% goes to drug abuse prevention when nearly 60% of all health issues are drug related said Vesta Boswell, CEO of PRYDE Hugs Not Drugs. So why are the powers that be surprised when the Life Education Trust reveals it has resorted to accepting funds from tobacco companies and breweries due to the lack of funding from other sources.

Many charitable organizations compete for an ever-shrinking pool of funding and in this case the need for the service is rising with the result being organisations like PRYDE and Life Education Trust having to struggle for survival. Although PRYDES philosophy is not to take funding from organisations like breweries or tobacco firms, charitable organisations need to think outside the square and at different ways to fund the services they provide.

Surely the government is responsible to ensure a fair system where charitable organisations, which are delivering a vast proportion of New Zealand’s social services, are adequately funded.

The decision has to be made by those people holding the purse strings whether New Zealand can afford to lose the tried and true services that organisations like PRYDE and Life Education offer. The current lack of adequate funding is forcing charitable organisations (PRYDE included) to face the dilemma of deciding either to close up shop or accept ANY funding on offer regardless of its source because the need for their services are so great.

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