Pubdate: Sun, 21 Aug 2005 Source: The Daily Star (Bangladesh) Copyright: 2005 The Daily Star Contact: http://www.thedailystar.net Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3893 IDUS SPREAD HIV/AIDS AT ALARMING RATE A comprehensive treatment alone can contain the spread of HIV/Aids through injecting drug users (IDU), said the experts at the inaugural function of a Free Drug Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre in the city yesterday. They also expressed their grave concern saying that the IDUs are spreading HIV/Aids at an alarming rate in the city by sharing needles and syringes. The 50-bed centre has been established by Dhaka Ahsania Mission (Dam) with the financial assistance of USAID, FHI and Impact. Located on the Johnson Road in the old part of the city, the centre has been instituted as part of a project, financed by Family Health International (FHI) to prevent Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among the IDUs through a comprehensive treatment. "According to a recent study, there is a huge concentration of IDUs in the old part of Dhaka," said Dam President and Chief Executive Kazi Rafiqul Alam. The study has found around 8.9 percent of HIV positive in one locality only, he said, adding that the HIV prevalence among the IDUs in Bangladesh has steadily increased to four percent at present from a very low rate a couple of years back. While 44 deaths have so far been reported in the country, another 87 persons have been reported as Aids positive and 465 persons as HIV positive, Alam said. More than three crore people have so far died in Aids worldwide while seven crore people have been infected with HIV with 16, 000 new infection daily, he added. Inaugurating the centre, Dhaka City Corporation Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka hoped that it will provide treatment to poor addicts. Director General of Narcotics Control Md Kamaluddin Ahmed, Law Commission Member and ex-IGP Enamul Huq and FHI Country Director Robert Kelly also spoke. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth