Dushanbe, June 29, 2010 Asia-Plus – Kevin Dean, Deputy Director of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) office in Tajikistan, Sulhiddin Nidoyev, the representative of President’s Executive Office, Khushbakht Hasanov, Director of the National Center of Monitoring and Prevention of drug usage, representatives of the Republican AIDS Center, Global Fund and other local and international NGOs participated in the “World Day Against Drugs” celebration, held in Dushanbe’s Dusti Park on June 26.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, the USAID through its Health Outreach Program helped the Ministry of Health organize this event. The celebration included competitions, quizzes and musical performances, and attracted the participation of youth, those most at-risk of using drugs. The most proactive participants were awarded prizes.
Mr. Dean mentioned in his speech that the spread of drug use in Tajikistan is driven by its proximity to the world’s largest opium producer, and exacerbated by socio-economic factors within Tajikistan itself. According to the medical statistics from State Narcological center in Tajikistan, there are around 5,400 officially registered intravenous drug users, but the 2008 the Epidemiological Surveillance Survey indicated that this number might be as high as 26,400. Intravenous drug use is one of the main factors contributing to the spread of HIV in Tajikistan, accounting for more than 55% of identified HIV cases.
USAID’s Health Outreach Program provides technical support to local partners to assist the people most at-risk of contracting HIV and TB. The Health Outreach Program provides outreach services and increased access to quality HIV and TB testing and treatment.
The Health Outreach Program, implemented by Population Service International, Project HOPE, the AIDS Foundation East-West, and the Kazakh Association of PLHIV in RK, is one of many development projects implemented in Tajikistan by the United States Agency for International Development. Since 1992, the American people through the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe have provided about $900 million in programs that support Tajikistan’s democratic institutions, health care, education, and economic growth.
