KABUL, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Afghan authorities have formally inaugurated the first-ever major rehabilitation center for drug addicts in Khost province, east of Afghanistan, reported the official Bakhtar News Agency on Friday.
Constructed at 6.5 million afghani (around 100,000 U.S. dollars) with the financial support of the World Health Organization, the 80-bed hospital provides services to the drug-addicted people in Khost and its neighboring Paktia and Paktika provinces, the media outlet added.
The Afghan government, which provided medical treatment to the thousands of drug addicts to recover over the past couple of years, has been fighting to get the once-poppy-growing country free of the drug menace. ■