KHUJAND, June 19, 2009, Asia-Plus — A roundtable meeting formally titled “Fruitful Cooperation to Prevent Drug Addiction and HIV/AIDS” was held in Khujand, the capita of Sughd province on June 18.
The meeting was organized by the Sughd counter narcotics directorate in partnership with the national drug addition monitoring and prevention center within the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the UNODC Office in Tajikistan on occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which is marked on June 26.
According to the Sughd counternarcotics directorate, the meeting brought together representatives of local authorities, NGOs, international organizations and media to discuss the topical problems of preventing, treating and rehabilitating drug addiction and HIV/AIDS.
The source at the Sughd counternarcotics directorate noted that 366 HIV sufferers and 1,273 drug users have been officially registered in the province to this date.
He also noted that the number of persons contracting HIV infection through sex has increased. “Thus, in 2001, drug users constituted 93 percent of HIV sufferers, while at present they constitute 55 percent of the HIV-infected persons,” said the source, “In the meantime, persons having contracted HIV infection through sex now constitute 21 percent of HIV sufferers.”
