Addicted from birth – Afghanistan Crossroads

KABUL, Afghanistan — Watching a drug addict going cold turkey in a rehabilitation center is hard. When that drug addict is 3 years old, it is heartbreaking.

But this is the shocking reality for some children in Afghanistan — an addiction that is passed on through birth and breastfeeding, or becoming dependent from second-hand smoke, often from their parents.

The Sanga Amaj Center in Kabul is one of just 40 drug treatment centers in the whole of Afghanistan. Just 40 centers for a population of more than 28 million, one million of which are believed to be addicted, according to the United Nations.