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.
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MAP posted-by: Beth