Drug elimination project extended for five years
Myanmar's drug elimination project has been extended until 2019, as illegal drug seizures have increased over the last few years.
The first five-year of drug elimination project was from 1999-2004, and in that period, a total of 4,468 drug users were treated. That number rose to 5,662 in the second period, from 2005-2009, and then to 10,635 in the third period, from 2010-2014.
From 2006 to 2014, a total of 6,862 were treated with opioid replacement therapy.
Opioid replacement therapy centres and rehabilitation clinics have opened to reduce drug addiction and prevent consequences of addiction, such as the transmission of HIV and other diseases.
Last year, the Ministry of Health opened treatment centres in Mawlaik and Kawlin hospitals in Sagaing State, Kunhing and Kholan hospitals in the southern Shan State, Nansang and Mongtong hospitals in the Palaung self-administered region in northern Shan State, Waingmaw hospital in Kachin State, Sanpya hospital in Thingangyun Township and a mental hospital in Ywathagyi in Yangon Region. One-stop services are offered at the treatment centres, the ministry said.
Shan State produces 90 per cent of Myanmar’s drugs, and Kachin State also produces a significant amount. Shan and Kachin states are home to more drug users than other regions in the country and also have above-average rates of HIV infection.
In the years between 1999 and 2014, opium growing only decreased in 2006. From 2012 to 2013, the area of land used for opium production increased from 51,000 to 57,800 hectares, mostly in Shan State. Opium production also increased from a total 690 tons produced in 2012 to 870 tons in 2013, according to a report published to commemorate the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26, 2014.
Myanmar has now opened a total of 73 drug treatment centres across the country, of which 26 are major rehabilitation centers.
