Afghanistan's Ministry of Health announced Tuesday that the number of drug addicts reached 3 million, of which 30 percent are children and seven percent are women.
Minister Ferozuddin Feruz said that this number has increased by seven percent compared to last year. The study was conducted in 23 cities. Feruz stated that drug rehabilitation centers are currently inadequate and asked for the support of the international community for their combat against drugs.
The number of Afghanistan's drug addicts were 920,000 in 2005.
Around 90 percent of the opium used in drug production is being cultivated in Afghanistan. The Afghan government states that 5,500 and 6,400 tons of drugs were produced within the country in 2013 and 2014.
The United Nations estimates that the market value produced in Afghanistan was $3 billion in 2013 and $2 billion in 2012.
