Drug addicts get various figures

Minister for Public Health Ali Insanov told a roundtable on a national strategy of combating drug addiction that the fight against narcotics should be conducted jointly with medical institutions and law enforcers. The roundtable was organized by the Ministry of Public Health and the World Health Organization.

Speaking to the event, chairman of the parliamentary commission on social policy Hadi Rajabov said drug addiction should be viewed not as a crime, but as a social disease.

Researches conducted in 51 nations have confirmed the spiraling number of those sitting on heroin and hashish in the CIS countries, including Azerbaijan, according to head of the WHO European Regional Bureau Almaz Imanbayova. The Azeri Interior Ministry has put the number of drug addicts in Azerbaijan at 15,000, while unofficial sources claim its being 115,000.

Addressing the gathering, Azerbaijan’s chief drug doctor Araz Aliguliyev said 95% of those registered at the drug dispensary are men, 70% of whom were using hashish, marijuana and heroin. 218 drug addicts willingly turned to the dispensary for treatment last year.

Out of the 376 HIV diagnosed, 170 were infected for drug injection, director for the Center for Aids Prevention and Prophylactics Gabil Aliyev told the roundtable.

A working group was set up to devise a national strategy to fight drug addiction in Azerbaijan.*