India talks prevention. Now let recovery be visible

Many countries acknowledge recovery in public life each year, and International Recovery Day on September 30 has become a neutral point of reference

India has learned to say no to addiction. Campaigns reach classrooms and public platforms, and de-addiction services sit inside government hospitals. The next step is quieter and practical: make recovery visible in public life so people know where to go, families feel less alone, and workplaces have a clear path to welcome people back. The Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan now operates in 372 identified districts, expanding education, outreach and referral pathways. The Drug De-addiction Programme, launched in 1988 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, anchors care in public hospitals and trains non-specialist medical officers through the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre at AIIMS. The Ministry of Social Justice supports Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts that treated lakhs of beneficiaries in 2022–23. This is meaningful public health work and it deserves recognition.

The national picture also explains why the conversation after treatment matters. (Representative file photo)

The national picture also explains why the conversation after treatment matters. The government’s Magnitude of Substance Use in India survey led by AIIMS and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment found that 14.6% of Indians aged 10–75 years are current alcohol users, with 5.2% in harmful use and 2.7% dependent. Only one in 38 people with an alcohol use disorder receives treatment in a given year. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that alcohol accounts for about 2.6 million deaths each year worldwide and psychoactive drugs for a further 600,000. The UN’s World Drug Report 2024 notes that only one in eleven people with a drug use disorder accessed treatment globally in 2022, and for women it was one in eighteen. Together, these figures explain why visibility after treatment matters. These figures translate into families improvising care in silence, and workplaces that would like to help but do not always have a script.

Prevention reduces risk and treatment saves lives. Recovery is where both meet real life. It is an ongoing care, peer support, family counselling and practical help for return to study and work. It is also a language. When recovery is scarcely spoken of, help-seeking can be delayed. When employers lack model practices, good intent depends on individual discretion. When families have no shared words for what they are living through, stigma fills the gap. The systems exist; greater visibility can help them work even better.

From prevention to recovery

One addition can carry the current efforts further. Many countries acknowledge recovery in public life each year, and International Recovery Day on September 30 has become a neutral point of reference. India can adapt this idea to its own institutions, languages and traditions by using that week as a practical moment for evidence, services and stories without changing the core of our programmes.

A focused window can help people encounter recovery early and clearly. State health departments, medical colleges and district missions can host open sessions at de-addiction facilities to explain assessment, treatment and aftercare. Families facing a first-time crisis often want clarity more than anything else. When the steps are easier to understand, they are easier to follow.

Workplaces can contribute as well. Model practices on leave for treatment, graded return to work and non-discrimination for employees in recovery can be published and adapted to sector needs. Employee Assistance Programmes can add recovery-focused counselling and peer groups. Teams tend to stabilise when staff know the path back is predictable and fair.

Measurement keeps efforts grounded. A yearly update that reports time to first contact, completion of treatment episodes and return to work or study within six months makes progress visible and repeatable. What is counted is easier to improve, and what is acknowledged publicly is more likely to endure.

India’s prevention architecture shows what coordination can achieve, and the treatment network shows what persistence can build. A small, visible step can help both travel further. Give recovery a modest place in the public calendar, align simple actions across health systems and workplaces, and share what changes year on year so people find help sooner and families feel less alone.

Arjun Ramesh is a communications strategist. The views expressed are personal.