Australia helps fight drug abuse problems

Australia helps fight drug abuse problems

JAKARTA (JP): Australia donated A$150,000 (US$98,000) on
Monday to help fight serious drug addiction problems in
Indonesia.

The fund, in addition to previous aid worth A$18.6 million
through an AusAID five-year project for prevention of HIV/AIDS
and sexually transmitted diseases, is specifically allocated for
drug problems related to injecting drug use (IDU).

Leslie Rowe, deputy head of mission at the Australian Embassy,
said he was concerned that drug abuse was a serious problem for
the younger generation in Indonesia, as drug dealers were
targeting school children.

"We hope that a team can be set up to observe IDU abuse from
health and social perspectives," he said at a media conference
preceding a two-day seminar organized by Project Concern
International of USAID and AusAID.

Concerns over IDU are growing, because the practice of using
shared needles can facilitate the spread of Hepatitis C or the
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes the Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty
Eradication Haryono Suyono said the number of Indonesian drug
abusers was estimated at about the two million mark.

He said that several ministers had asked President B.J.
Habibie in a recent Cabinet meeting to improve preventive
measures on drug use.

The two-day seminar is being held in order to establish an
accurate picture of drug abuse in Indonesia, and to explore the
possibility of building a network of parents, professionals and
international communities to tackle the problem. (06)