Asia-Pacific youth share experiences on drugs
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Prevention, people say, is better than cure. In most cases, this should be relatively straightforward. Not, however, when it comes to preventing drug abuse.
But despite the difficulties, 14 young representatives from non-governmental organizations in the Asia-Pacific region are striving hard to continue the fight against drugs, and have come together to share their experiences in the fight against drug abuse among young people.
"In my country, it is really hard to make young people speak up and express their opinions on drug abuse," said Fijian representative Joy Kaloumaira, who has been working with the Fiji Council of Social Services in its campaign against drugs.
She added that Fijian NGOs addressed the questions of psychology and lack of confidence among young people during their campaigns.
Difficulty in finding volunteers, resistance from the community and lack of support from other institutions were problems in a number of countries, the young antidrug campaigners said.
"We have so few people willing to voluntarily participate in antidrug campaigns," Pero Yin from Cambodia explained.
Cambodia, Laos and the border areas of Thailand are known as the Golden Triangle -- the hub of the drug trade in Asia.
For Australian social worker Matt Stubbs, it was the reluctance of teachers to help promote the antidrug message in schools that hampered the mission.
"Teachers are supposed to be the most effective campaigners on such issues," he told the audience.
In a bid to learn from each other and create a wider NGO network in the region, Indonesian antidrug foundation, Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB), is hosting the first meeting of the Asia-Pacific Global Youth Network, which is affiliated with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The event started on Wednesday and runs through Friday.
The UNODC's Global Youth Network was founded to encourage international youth involvement so as to help develop drug abuse prevention policies and programs, since the population of young drug users is increasing.
In Indonesia alone, as of last year the Ministry of Health reported that half of the between 124,000 and 169,000 intravenous drug users (IDUs) were teenagers aged between 15 and 24 years old. Of this figure, an estimated 80,000 to 130,000 are living with HIV/AIDS.
"We will share experiences with other countries in the region on drug abuse prevention campaigns and programs," YCAB chief executive officer Veronica Colondam said at the opening of the workshop on Wednesday.
"The forum will focus on prevention, because it is the key to keeping the problem from spreading."
In its latest survey, YCAB reported that 60 percent of drug users in Jakarta came from families earning monthly incomes of below Rp 500,000 (US$59.52), while the rest belonged to families whose incomes ranged between Rp 500,000 and Rp 1 million per month. Meanwhile, it takes between US$700 and $1,200 to cure a drug addict through a detoxification program.
Veronica said the delegates from Australia, Cambodia, Fiji, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines and Thailand would later implement campaign projects in their countries and report on the success of these in November.(003)