EMN
Dimapur, June 29
THE District AIDS Prevention and Control Unit, Kohima has recently launched the Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima, under the Nagaland AIDs Control Society (NSACs).
Addressing the inaugural function, Principal Director, Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Neiphi Kire said that the OST is a very challenging agent and is very intensive. He said, a lot of changes and good outcome is evident in the programmes undertaken by the NSACs, particularly in providing a comprehensive range of treatment services to drug users.
The Principal Director stressed on working for the effectiveness of opioid substitution therapy for injecting drug users (IDUs) and the maximum resource utilization. He said that there was a consistent and marked improvement observed in the quality of life measures when intake is compared with few months after enrolment into OST. While stressing on strategies to scale up and strengthen implementation of the programme all over the State, so as to reach a larger proportion of clients, Dr Kire also cautioned the clients to be disciplined and religiously follow the treatment provided for a better outcome.
Presenting a project status report, Dr Bernice stressed on Comprehensive Package for IDU Clinical Services, Provision of commodities, Enabling Environment, Referrals and Linkages and Community Mobilization. She said, some of the immediate goals under OST are detoxification, intervention of psychosocial and medical crisis, prevention of relapse, re-integration in the society and family, occupational rehabilitation and improvement in overall quality of life.
Khrie Rio, who has been on drugs for the past many years, also shared his success and happy story after being enrolled as an OST client. Rio remarked, “I have been dependent on drugs for the last many years. My Family and friends did not like and wanted to accept me. My drug addiction pushed me into a web of complete failure in life. But with the coming of OST, my life has changed. I’m much happier and better.”
Earlier, in a release, District AIDs Control Officer, Dr. Vezokholu informed that the Opioid substitution therapy or OST, is a well accepted treatment strategy for harm minimisation and involves replacing the client’s primary drug use with a medically safe drug or the same Opioid in a safer mode of administration under medical supervision, thereby improving the quality of life and health of injecting drug users.
