Ibb's SG meets Washington-based Anti-Qat Project's director
The Source: IBB/hadhramaut.info/sabanews,net - 07/072010
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The Secretary-General of Local Council in Ibb province Ameen al-Worafi met on Wednesday the Washington-based Anti-Qat project's director Ms. Julie Valoria and head of Yemen Women Union (YWU) Ramzia al-Eryani In the meeting, the two sides discussed the anti-Qat project, which is supported by Japan's government and the World Bank through the Yemeni Women Union (YWU) and implemented in seven provinces and its cost estimated at USD 2.7 million.They also dealt with ways to support women's participation in the fight against Qat and the prevention of chewing it within the family as well as their participation in raising awareness of the risks of this tree.Al-Worafi affirmed the local authority's support for such trends especially that the province has inaugurated a campaign to reduce the cultivation of Qat and replace it with fruitful trees.Qat, or khat is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.Residents of the Ethiopian, Somali, and Yemeni communities in places like Washington, D.C., chew dried khat leaves socially.Anti-khat law enforcement has been increased as demand for the drug has grown in immigrant communities in the U.S. and European countries.
The main active ingredient in khat, cathinone, is banned in 28 states and the federal government.The World Health Organization says the drug can be addictive and lead to psychological and social problems as well as high blood pressure, insomnia, anorexia, constipation, and malaise.Some traditional khat-using communities condemn the restrictions, while others welcome attempts to control khat because of its links to domestic abuse and other family problems, in addition to the depletion of groundwater in its cultivation areas.
Khat use is believed to have originated in Ethiopia.
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