& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Social stigma among IDUs hinders harm reduction services

Speakers tell workshop

Staff Correspondent
Speakers at an advocacy workshop yesterday said social stigma, discrimination and harassment among injecting drug users (IDUs) pose major challenges hindering the essential harm reduction services for them.
Essential harm reduction services for IDUs project have also been facing challenges due to violence against target communities and lack of support from the narcoticslaw, they added.
They said this at the workshop at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the city with DGHS Director General Dr Shah Munir Hossain in the chair.
Director General of the Directorate of Narcotics Control Humayun Kabir was present at the programme as the chief guest.
The speakers said at the same time, huge demand for drug, treatment and rehabilitation and economic, social and political dislocation also pose challenges in implementing the project.
The project is aimed at reducing the spread of HIV among IDUs to promote safer behaviour like safe injecting and safer sex practices following harm reduction strategy.
But due to social and domestic violence, IDUs are becoming isolated and creat-
ing social problems, said the speakers, adding that administrative harassment leads them to be dropped out from the existing services.
Sharing needles and syringes increases among the IDUs as they cannot buy needles, syringes and condoms that further lead to increase infection of HIV/AIDS. hepatitis and other sexually transmitted infections, they added.
The workshop was organ-ised by Padakkhep Consortium in association
with AIDS/STD Programme and Save the Children USA.
Presenting a keynote paper, Shamim Rabbani, team leader of Padakkhep Consortium, GFATM-907 said an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 IDUs are there in the country and 70 percent of them have been harassed physically at least once in their life, while 60 percent were taken to jail.
The speakers reasoned unfavourable narcotics law, lack of awareness among people, frequent changes of
police people who have been sensitised and lack of initiative of civil society, donors, implementing agencies and the media regarding the issue behind the harassment.
AIG of Police Mohammad Mahfuzul Haque, Joint Secretary of the ministry of youth and sports Gazi Mizanur Rahman, joint secretary of the ministry of lawaffairs Nasrin Begum and Director of HIV/AIDS Programme Dr Nizamuddin Ahmed also spoke.