The200,000 USD project, managed by the Ministry of Labour, War Invalidsand Social Affairs (MOLISA), will be carried out in Truong Thi communeof Thanh Hoa city, Thanh Hoa province, Tien Hai town of Thai Binhprovince’s Tien Hai district and Muong Khen commune of Hoa Binhprovince’s Tan Lac district.
The project’s objectivesinclude increasing beneficiaries’ access to drug detoxificationservices, and restoring health for drug users, thus reducing drugaddiction’s effects on community’s health, including HIV transmission.
Italso aims to raise local authorities’ capacity on building anddeveloping drug treatment networks and a healthy community, as well asduplicate the project’s model to turn it into a nationwide socialservice network to reduce drug demand.
According toMOLISA, the proportion of drug users under 30 years of age increasedfrom 45 percent in 1996 to 57 percent and 68 percent in 2001 and 2010,respectively.
By Dec. 2009, 147,000 Vietnamese peoplewere reported to use drugs, of whom, 84.72 percent were heroin addictsand 11.58 percent used opium./.
Vietnam successfully eliminates trachoma: WHO
The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed on October 21 that Vietnam has eliminated trachoma, a contagious, bacterial disease that may eventually lead to blindness.
