Harm Reduction Programme::January Start

Needle exchange programme expected to begin in January
BY AUDREY EDWARDS

PETALING JAYA: The needle exchange and condom distribution programme to check the spread of HIV among drug users is expected to start in January.

Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said his ministry has decided that the harm reduction programme, involving the two methods and drug substitution therapy, will go ahead.

“The earliest we can begin is in January. There are many people to train. And I have been told that in terms of amending the law, it can be done administratively,” he said yesterday.

A pilot programme involving 1,200 volunteers will begin at the end of October for the drug substitution therapy, which uses methadone.

Harm reduction focuses on preventing or reducing actual harm associated with risk behaviour.

The concept, which has been around for a long time, realises that some drug users will not stop using drugs despite the risk of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases.

It also includes providing information to injecting drug users (IDUs) of the risk, outreach programmes, peer education, voluntary counselling and HIV testing.

Recently, the Government said it was seriously considering the needle exchange and condom distribution programme for IDUs in an effort to halt the spread of HIV among Malaysians.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had said that it was necessary as the situation had reached an “emergency level.”

Statistics released by the ministry show that 64,439 Malaysians were infected from 1986 until December last year.

The number of new cases in 2004 was 6,427.

Of the total number of people living with AIDS reported so far, 75% are IDUs.

It has been estimated that if left unchecked, 300,000 Malaysians would be infected with HIV in 10 years’ time.

A study conducted in 1998 among 6,326 inmates at 26 Pusat Serenti (government-run drug rehabilitation centres) found that 65% of them were IDUs and 77.6% were sexually active. But only 18.7% used condoms during sex.

Dr Chua also said that no extra infrastructure was necessary as the ministry would use existing drop-in centres to carry out the programme.

“It is only making sure that we have enough trained staff from both the ministry and NGOs (non-governmental organisations). We have already started talking to some of them,” he added.

A meeting with the ulama will be held on Aug 11 to explain the harm reduction programme. “We will meet leaders from other religions on a separate day,” Dr Chua said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad said the programme must be fully understood to ensure its success.

He said NGOs, the medical fraternity and ministry staff had a role to play in the “social marketing” of the programme.

“We want ministry officers to be really skilled in the programme and there will be human resource training.

“If they do not understand the programme, how can it be implemented successfully?

“If one doctor or staff nurse makes a wrong remark because he or she does not have adequate information, it will affect our goals,” he told reporters after opening the Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia's Seventh National Scientific meeting.

Dr Latiff said that while the programme would follow guidelines set by the World Health Organisation and based on the experiences of other countries, it would be drawn up to suit Malaysian culture.

--STAR

It looks like the gomen is serious about the harm reduction programme. The gomen has finally accepted that many drug addicts will not stop using drugs despite the many efforts taken to get them off their habit. The pilot project involving some 1,200 addicts will be launched in October. It is also obvious that the gomen is keen to ensure that the programme works well and is going to train those involved in the implementation of the programme intensively before the actual programme starts next year. As usual there will be the need to make sure the programme fits in with Malaysian culture, whatever that means. Hopefully, the ulamas and other religious leaders will not get in the way of effective working of the programme.
In the presently on-going Seventh International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific in Kobe, Japan; Asia has been mentioned as having the second-largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world after sub-Saharan Africa. Papua New Guinea is at risk of an African-level HIV/AIDS epidemic, but other Asia-Pacific nations like Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar are also worrisome as the number of infections there continue to rise warned the head of the U.N. AIDS agency.
AIDS is a "silent tsunami" that threatens all of Asia, but the deadly disease can still be conquered if governments take urgent action now, world health officials said. One in four new infections occurs in Asia and 1,500 die in the region each day. Failure to fight AIDS will have a critical economic impact on the region. The United Nations estimates losses could total $29 billion from AIDS alone by 2010 if nothing is done now. J.V.R. Prasada Rao, Director of the Regional Support Team for UNAIDS, said ::

"The virus doesn't kill hundreds of thousands at a thunderous stroke like the tsunami, and it doesn't provide vivid television pictures." "It is more like a silent tsunami."

The U.N. estimates 8.2 million people are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Asia, about 5.1 million of them in India. The Chinese government says there are 840,000 patients in China. Worldwide, about 39 million people have HIV/AIDS, including 25 million in sub-Saharan Africa. By 2010, 12 million people are likely to be infected with HIV in Asia if no steps are taken to control the epidemic.