A methadone treatment programme for drug addicts has proved effective in reducing HIV/AIDS infections in the Red River Delta province of Nam Dinh.
With financial support from the government and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the province has established four methadone treatment centres in Truc Ninh, Xuan Truong and Giao Thuy districts and Nam Dinh city.
According to Doctor Vu Van Nghia, Deputy Director of the provincial HIV/AIDS Prevention Centre, after nearly three years of implementation, the programme has allowed drug users to improve their quality of life and reintegrate into the community.
As many as 95 percent of the drug users have started using methadone instead of drugs after six months of treatment, which has helped reduce HIV infections and blood-transmitted diseases among the group of people in the province, he said.
The method also eases the burden for their family and society and reduces crime, Nghia said, adding that there will be another centre in Hai Hau district by the end of this year.
Nam Dinh is home to nearly 6,000 drug users, 1,000 of whom are receiving treatment in the four centres.-VNA
With financial support from the government and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the province has established four methadone treatment centres in Truc Ninh, Xuan Truong and Giao Thuy districts and Nam Dinh city.
According to Doctor Vu Van Nghia, Deputy Director of the provincial HIV/AIDS Prevention Centre, after nearly three years of implementation, the programme has allowed drug users to improve their quality of life and reintegrate into the community.
As many as 95 percent of the drug users have started using methadone instead of drugs after six months of treatment, which has helped reduce HIV infections and blood-transmitted diseases among the group of people in the province, he said.
The method also eases the burden for their family and society and reduces crime, Nghia said, adding that there will be another centre in Hai Hau district by the end of this year.
Nam Dinh is home to nearly 6,000 drug users, 1,000 of whom are receiving treatment in the four centres.-VNA
