Thu, 27 Sep 2001

Govt ponders substitute drugs to treat addicts

By Fitri Wulandari

JAKARTA (JP): The government is considering distributing disposable syringes or lighter drugs to intravenous drug users as part of an official campaign to fight drug abuse.

Minister of Health Achmad Suyudi said on Wednesday that the government would go ahead with the program -- in spite of the controversy over the drug-for-drug scheme.

The "harm reduction" scheme has proven successful in the United States and Australia, not only in reducing the number of hard drug users, but also in preventing the spread of the deadly Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) among drug users.

"The ministry is trying to formulate a program that would be most appropriate for Indonesia," Suyudi told The Jakarta Post after opening a workshop on health development.

The National Committee of Drug Abuse Prevention (KP2NAPZA), a unit of the Ministry of Health founded in July 2000 to deal with the growing problem of drug abuse in the country, is studying the project, he added.

Separately, KP2NAPZA chairman Broto Wasisto said the committee was currently preparing to launch pilot projects for the program in Jakarta and Bali.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting to evaluate KP2NAPZA's performance, Broto said the program was crucial in helping fight the spread of AIDS because an increasing number of intravenous drug users had contracted Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) through careless use of the syringe.

"They are victims. They need help," he said.

About 40 percent of intravenous drug users have been found to be infected with HIV/AIDS. The prevalence of known cases is also rising, from three in 1998 to 415 in June 2001, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

"Intravenous drug users with HIV/AIDS can pass the virus to others. We have to accept that drug abuse cases will always be here. This (program) is a realistic solution to the problem," he said.

The harm reduction program follows two approaches: Giving disposable needles and syringes to drug users, or substituting heroin, the substance for intravenous drug users, with methadone, a lighter drug that is nonaddictive.

In the U.S. and Australia, where this program has been running, drug addicts can go to health clinics to get their needles, syringes or drug substitutes for free.

The program offers several benefits, according to Broto:

* A participant would be in contact with a counselor, and over time, through regular counseling, will kick the habit.

* It makes it easier for the government to monitor the number of intravenous drug users.

* It prevents the spread of HIV/AIDS.

* It prevents drug addicts from slipping into a worse condition.

The committee has approached several international agencies, including the United Nations program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Health Organization, for possible funding.

To get the pilot project going, the committee has asked the Fatmawati Drug Dependency Hospital in Jakarta, but it has yet to determine the hospital in Bali, he said.

The Fatmawati Hospital said the number of drug addicts treated there has jumped more than fivefold from 1,779 cases in 1998 to 10,743 in 2000.

Broto Wasisto said that the program could draw fire from the public because of concerns that it might encourage more people to use drugs.

"We are carefully studying the project by looking at the experiences of other countries which have launched the program," he said.