AUSTRALIA HELPS FIGHT DRUG ABUSE PROBLEMS

JAKARTA (JP): Australia donated A$150,000 (US$98,000) on Monday to
help fight serious drug addiction problems in Indonesia.

The fund, in addition to previous aid worth A$18.6 million through an
AusAID five-year project for prevention of HIV/AIDS and sexually
transmitted diseases, is specifically allocated for drug problems
related to injecting drug use (IDU).

Leslie Rowe, deputy head of mission at the Australian Embassy, said he
was concerned that drug abuse was a serious problem for the younger
generation in Indonesia, as drug dealers were targeting school children.

"We hope that a team can be set up to observe IDU abuse from health
and social perspectives," he said at a media conference preceding a
two-day seminar organized by Project Concern International of USAID
and AusAID.

Concerns over IDU are growing, because the practice of using shared
needles can facilitate the spread of Hepatitis C or the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes the Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication
Haryono Suyono said the number of Indonesian drug abusers was
estimated at about the two million mark.

He said that several ministers had asked President B.J. Habibie in a
recent Cabinet meeting to improve preventive measures on drug use.

The two-day seminar is being held in order to establish an accurate
picture of drug abuse in Indonesia, and to explore the possibility of
building a network of parents, professionals and international
communities to tackle the problem.