Illicit Drug use in the Asia Pacific Region - Burnet Institute

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Situational analysis of illicit drug issues and responses in the Asia–Pacific region 274 For the current review, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF, Family Health International and the Ministry of Health were contacted in order to assess the current illicit drug situation in Timor-Leste . The following is a summary of their responses: • No data have been collected on the illicit drug situation in Timor-Leste . • Illicit drug issues are not considered a priority in Timor-Leste at this time . • There are too many immediate lifethreatening illnesses and determinants of health to address in the short term . There is some discussion of the quantities of locally brewed alcohol consumed by individuals but not to the point where it is part of the public health agenda . There are no indicators that the situation has or could change from the current very low levels of substance abuse, especially intravenous drugs . A12 .3 References Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2005) . 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: first results. Canberra: AIHW . Family Health International (2004) . Country Profile East Timor . Dili: Family Health International . Rock, J . (2005) . The Dili STI Study: Dili: Family Health International . United States Agency for International Development (2004) . Country profile HIV/ AIDS: Democratic Republic of East Timor . Retrieved from http://www .usaid .gov/ our_work/global_health/aids/Countries/ ane/easttimor .html . A13 . Vietnam Geography Located in south-eastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos and Cambodia . Low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and north-west . Arable land: 19 .97% Permanent crops: 5 .95% Other: 74 .08% (2001) Government Communist state Chief of state: President Tran Duc Luong (since 24 September 1997) Head of government: Prime Minister Phan Van Khai (since 25 September 1997); First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (since 29 September 1997); Deputy Prime Ministers Vu Khoan (8 August 2002) and Pham Gia Khiem (since 29 September 1997) Elections: President elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a five-year term; election last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative elections in 2007); Prime Minister appointed by the President from among the members of the National Assembly; Deputy Prime Ministers appointed by the Prime Minister Population 82,689,518 (July 2004 est .) Urban: 25 .2% of total (2002) Median age: 24 .9 years Age structure (2004 est .): 0–14 years: 29 .4% 15–64 years: 65% 65 years and over: 5 .6% Human development index HDI rank 112 (177 countries) Unemployment rate 6 .1% (2003 est .) Language Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favoured as a second language), some French, Chinese and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo- Polynesian) 275 Country profiles: Vietnam
Situational analysis of illicit drug issues and responses in the Asia–Pacific region 276 Literacy % age 15 and over who can read and write: 90 .3% (2002) Religion Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim Health Life expectancy: Male: 67 .86 years Female: 73 .02 years (2004 est .) Infant mortality rate: 29 .88 deaths/1000 live births HIV prevalence: 0 .4% (2003 est .) Economics GDP: purchasing power parity — $203 .7 billion (2003 est .) Population living below the national poverty line (%), 1990–2001: 50 .9% A13 .1 Narrative summary of drug vulnerabilities In late the 1980s a wide-ranging policy and institutional reform process known as doi moi was introduced . Since then, Vietnam has experienced a rapid process of social and economic transformation . While overall there has been major economic growth and rates of poverty have declined, approximately onethird of the population still live in poverty by international measures . Income and human well-being disparities have increased substantially, particularly among the poorest in the community and between urban and rural dwellers . Overall, incomes remain low, and poverty in the mountainous areas, where social services are few or absent, is recognised to be extreme . In recent years there has also been major and increasing migration of rural dwellers into urban centres in search of greater income-generating opportunities (AusAID, 2004b; Ministry of Public Security, Standing Agency in Drugs Control, 2003; World Health Organization, 2004c) . The country has experienced a rapid population growth, resulting in a disproportionately large number of adolescents and young people . Around 30 per cent of the population is now aged between 12 and 25 years, a situation likely to persist until at least 2010 . The large youth population is creating concerns . Demand for lower and secondary schooling has increased substantially: ethnic minorities are often severely disadvantaged — for instance, 19 per cent of girls from ethnic minorities have never attended school . The availability of university places has decreased: only 14 per cent of those sitting entry examinations are accepted and those who do attend university must pay fees (O’Higgins, 2002; United Nations Country Team, 2004) . Youth unemployment and under-employment place a real burden upon the country . Unemployment in most cities in the late 1990s was of the order of 26 per cent among 15–19 year olds seeking jobs . Currently youth unemployment in most urban centres is 16 per cent, but nationwide it is estimated to be around 4–8 per cent . In recent years, an estimated 1 .4 million people reached working age each year at a time when there were already 2 .4 million people unemployed . Young women are disproportionately disadvantaged, with a national rate of 7 per cent unemployed, rising in some urban centres to 18 .5 per cent . Youth under-employment is also widespread, with around 4 .7 million youth willing to do more work, which is not available . Social pressures on youth have increased in large cities, are associated with unemployment and under-employment, and are contributing to drug use (O’Higgins, 2002; United Nations Country Team, 2004) . Adding to these social and economic issues is Vietnam’s proximity to the Golden Triangle, combined with its extensive borders with Cambodia (983 km), China (1281 km), and Lao PDR (1555 km) and its 3444 kilometres of coastline — all providing an environment for easy trafficking of drugs in and out of Vietnam (Rekart, 2002; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003b) . Historical and cultural interactions with drugs There is a long history of opium cultivation in Vietnam among some ethnic minorities in the mountainous areas of Vietnam (Westermyer et al ., 1991) . Opium was used not only medicinally but also as a means to alleviate hunger . In the early 19th century, British opium began flooding into southern China and then into Vietnam . The economic strains of opium addiction began to show and, in 1820, the Vietnamese monarch outlawed opium . As in China, this restriction on opium smuggling from China was unsuccessful . Colonisation by the French led to the establishment of an opium franchise and the sale of opium reaped large profits for the colonisers . Opium dens were widespread throughout the country (Le, 1999; McCoy, 1991) . It has been estimated that 2 per cent of the entire population were dependent on opium by 1945, including almost 20 per cent of the Vietnamese elite . After independence in 1945 the government made serious attempts to eradicate opium cultivation but, by the early 1960s, this had proven unsuccessful (Le, 1999; Nguyen, 1998) . In the late 1950s there was a strong push to re-open opium dens in South Vietnam and recommence the distribution network for smuggled opium . By the early 1960s, in Saigon’s sister city of Cholon there were an estimated 2500 opium dens in operation (McCoy, 1991) . Patterns of drug use changed during the American war in Vietnam when opium smoking and, to a lesser extent, heroin injecting became a large problem among American and South Vietnamese soldiers . Most American soldiers smoked opium rather than injected heroin; most only started injecting when they returned to the United States (if they continued opiate use — most did not) (Robins & Slobodyan, 2003) . By mid-1971 it was estimated there were more American heroin users in South Vietnam (81,000) than in the entire United States (68,000) (McCoy, 1991) . In 1974 it was estimated that in Saigon alone there were 150,000 drug users . After the war, heroin use largely disappeared when drug supplies became scarce, but a small percentage of Vietnamese continued using opium (McCoy, 1991; Nguyen, 1998) . Before 1975 most drug users resided in the south of Vietnam, particularly in Saigon (renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1976) . In the 1980s drug use began to reappear . Some of those people who had been dependent before 1975 began appearing at treatment centres and there was also evidence of many new drug users . The number of drug users has continued to increase and they are now to be found in most provinces . 277 Country profiles: Vietnam
Page 1 and 2:
situational analysis of illicit dru
Page 3 and 4:
© Australian National Council on D
Page 5 and 6:
Situational analysis of illicit dru
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102: Situational analysis of illicit dru
Page 151: Situational analysis of illicit dru
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
Page 207 and 208:
Page 209 and 210:
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
Page 215:
show all

Illicit Drug use in the Asia Pacific Region - Burnet Institute

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?