Methadone distribution to heroin addicts begins

In an attempt to stem the spread of HIV among injecting drug users, health officials announced on Tuesday that there would be a free distribution of methadone to drug addicts in Kyrgyzstan. Methadone is a synthetic and habit-forming narcotic used since the 1960s to treat addiction to heroin and other opiates. According to Wednesday’s AP report, Kyrgyz authorities were alarmed by the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, in the southern Osh region, which lies on a popular Central Asian drug-smuggling route. Speaking at a news conference, the Kyrgyz deputy health minister, Gulzhigit Aliyev, said that despite the opening of health centres in the region where drug users could exchange syringes and needles free of charge, the programme had apparently failed in containing the spread of HIV. Kyrgyzstan had no registered HIV cases until 1995. However, 11 new HIV cases in Osh have been reported in the past three months alone. The former Soviet republic has officially registered 78 HIV cases, but a UN official told IRIN that the figure was probably much higher. The authorities plan to start methadone distribution in the next two months, the report said.