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)