Injectable Drug Abuse

MEMORANDUM
INJECTABLE DRUG ABUSE: GROWING CHALLENGE IN NORTH-EASTERN PART OF INDIA
FROM: AE28697
TO: Ministry of development of north east affairs, India
RE: Scenario C-Health and harm reduction
DATE: 19 October 2013
Introduction
North-east (NE) India is connected to remaining part of India through a constricted passage known as Siliguri Corridor squeezed between Nepal and Bangladesh (Hussain, 2011). It comprises of seven sister states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. The region shares more than 4500 km of international border with China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan. The region is presently facing acute problem of drug addicts who operate in groups and prefer administration through injection. The existing scenario is very alarming and needs to be addressed urgently. In this paper the root causes of the problem has been analysed and three simultaneous actions have been recommended as solution.
Background
The terrain of NE India has low hills and forest covers 52% of area. Mighty Brahmaputra, Meghna and other river and its tributaries bring out the potential of hydroelectric generation and inland-water transportation systems. The region generates less than 8% of its 63257 MW of hydroelectric power generation potential due to lack of infrastructure, road and rail communication and industrialization (CDPS).
The region is presently facing identity crises as many local influential leaders continue to struggle for independence (identity crises). Long history of separatist groups in some of the states has reduced the growth of tourism and has discouraged potential investors. Notably, this region has a high unemployment rate of 59.3% as compared to 19.7% national averages (Khan, 2013).
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