Drug Addiction and HIV Infection on Rise in Tajikistan

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Drug Addiction and HIV Infection on Rise in Tajikistan

Lancet (10.11.03) - Monday, October 20, 2003
Tom Parfitt

Experts say a steep increase in Afghan narcotics trafficking through central Asia has led to a surge in drug addiction and HIV cases in Tajikistan. The former Soviet state is at the mouth of the old "silk route" through which heroin and other opiates flow to Russian and European markets. Traffickers usually move Afghan drugs through Iran and Pakistan, but UN figures show that US-led military operations in southern Afghanistan have pushed traffickers north. Tajikistan's health ministry recently announced the country has 6,671 drug addicts but the unofficial figure is at least 15 times higher, according to Andre Onishenko, director of the Tajik Narcological Hospital. The nation has few resources to combat addiction and HIV/AIDS. "We have programs to provide free needles to addicts and contraceptives to prostitutes but it's nowhere near enough," said Azamdjon Mirzoev, director of the Centre for AIDS Prevention and Control.
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