The HCMC government has approved of the drug addiction treatment plan using Methadone with around VND80 billion ($4 million) to be set aside to treat 14,000 drug addicts in the 2012-2015 period.

HCMC has now had five Methadone treatment clinics in districts 4, 6, 8, Binh Thanh and Thu Duc. More clinics of this kind will be opened in Go Vap and Tan Binh districts in the future while ten Methadone distribution points will be set up citywide.

Treatment clinics will receive the medicine which is sponsored by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) from now until 2014. However, clinics themselves will have to buy the medicine after 2014.

HCMC will be in need of an estimated Methadone volume of around 70,500 liters from now until 2015.

Besides, the number of drug addicts in the city is on the rise with over 15,000 people, with most addicts using heroin.

Since receiving approval from the Government in 2008, HCMC has piloted three Methadone treatment clinics. There had been over 1,200 drug addicts receiving the Methadone treatment until February.

SGT