Addicts undergoing rehabilitation in Bangalore will soon be relieved of pain they endure when medicines are administered into their bodies.
Addicts undergoing rehabilitation in Bangalore will soon be relieved of pain they endure when medicines are administered into their bodies. Bangalore will become the first city in the state to have its own opioid substitution therapy (OST) centre for drug addicts to switch over to safer mode to over come their addiction.
The Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) is all set to ink a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) to open an OST centre.
“We are in talks with KIMS. The OST, the first of its kind in the state, will become a reality by next month,’’ said Vijay Hugar, joint director, Target Intervention, KSAPS.
The proposed centre will have a doctor, a counsellor and a pharmacist. The doctor decides the dosage of buprenorphine to be given to each drug addict.
Injecting drug users (IDUs) can visit the centre and take the oral dose of buprenorphine on daily basis. “Buprenorphine will work as substitute to fortwin and crude drugs. It will keep the addict normal for 24 hours. The addict has to visit the OST centre daily,” said Hugar.
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), in collaboration with KSAPS, has been taking measures to prevent the spread of HIV among drug addicts.
Under the syringe and needle exchange programme, NACO has provided 1.92 lakh needles and an equal number of syringes between April 2011 and January 2012.
“The two NGOs have been supplying needles and syringes to IDUs. The objective is to avoid the risk of spreading HIV through sharing the same needle and syringe in a group of IDUs,’’ said Hugar. As per a survey conducted by the KSAPS, there are 2,500 IDUs in Bangalore. As of now, the KSAPS has made arrangements through two NGOs — Population Services International and Institute for Youth Development — to cater to the needs of 1,509 IDUs.
While the Institute for Youth Development has been organising counselling programmes for IDUs in and around Koramangala, Population Services International maintains two drop-in-centres at KR Market and Shivajinagar.
Among the 1,509 IDUs, 592 are from Koramangala or nearby areas, while 494 are from KR Market and 423 are from Shivajinagar.
“More than 40% IDUs are autorickshaw drivers,” said R Ramappa, director, Institute for Youth Development.
However, small businessmen are in the lead in Shivajinagar and KR Market areas. Over 6% IDUs belong to BPO industry. “A majority of IDUs is literates,’’ said Sapna Raveendran, project director, IDUs, Population Services International.
Joseph Francis Munjuttu, Technical Support Unit of KSAPS, said the IDUs can kick the habit gradually by injecting these drugs. For a few hours every day, a regular dose of these drugs prevents the body from craving for opiates.
“The objective of opening the OST centre is not only to eliminate the usage of needles and syringes, but also to keep them under check. This facility will be extended to other areas in the future,’’ said Munjuttu, adding that the KSAPS is targeting 20% of IDUs in Bangalore to utilise the proposed OST centre.
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