UNODC gives $660,000 to fund drug, HIV/AIDS programmes

UNODC gives $660,000 to fund drug, HIV/AIDS programmes

HA NOI — The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has given $660,000 to Viet Nam to fund two new projects.

One project will help the Vietnamese government carry out its crime prevention and drug control mission. The other will sort out barriers to health care and treatment facing people with HIV/AIDS.

The UNODC Viet Nam Country Manager Zhuldyz Akisheva said yesterday that her organisation would encourage drug users and people with HIV/ AIDS to support the Government's long-term strategies to combat these issues.

Among the top priorities this year, the UNODC will focus on helping Viet Nam deal with illicit trafficking, criminal justice, drug use reduction and HIV/AIDS prevention.

At yesterday's meeting between the UNODC and the Ministry of Public Security, Deputy Director General of the Criminal Investigating General Police Department Major General Vu Hung Vuong reiterated Viet Nam's commitment to fighting drug use.

"Viet Nam has achieved visible results in drugs and crime prevention, such as increasing awareness about the dangers of drugs, building a more formal legal system and reducing opium cultivation areas in Viet Nam," said Vuong.

The National Committee for AIDS, Drugs and Prostitutes Prevention's latest statistics show that authorities have handled 122,500 cases with nearly 200,000 drug criminals involved. They have seized nearly 1,900kg of heroin, 2,500kg of opium, 15,000kg of marijuana and 800,000 narcotics pills. The area under opium cultivation saw dramatic reductions: 428ha in 2000 became 30ha in 2009.

Including these two new projects, the UNODC has funded Viet Nam a total of 12 drug and crime prevention projects worth US$9.5 million. — VNS