Opioid Substitution Treatment Availability In Tajikistan, 2011

"In 2009, the Government of Tajikistan reviewed and supported the request of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Tajikistan regarding the introduction of a pilot project of opioid substitution therapy (OST), initially for 200 patients. In accordance with the resolution of the Government, the Ministry began to implement the project. In June 2010, the Ministry of Health, with financial support from the GFATM and UNODC, opened the first OST centre in Dushanbe, at the Republican Clinical Narcology Centre named after Prof. M. G. Gulomov. By the end of 2011, 102 patients, including 7 women, were receiving OST at that centre. The second OST centre was opened in the city of Khudjand, Sogd Province, in December 2010, with 52 patients (including 3 women) receiving OST there by the end of 2011. The third centre was opened in Khorog in June 2011, with 44 patients (including 1 woman) receiving OST there by the end of 2011 (Nidoev, 2012).
"In Dushanbe, the following eligibility criteria for the OST programme are reportedly being used: age over 18, the presence of an opioid dependence diagnosis, a confirmed history of injecting drug use, a history of failures in drug treatment, and the capability to provide informed consent.
"According to an evaluation conducted among OST patients in Dushanbe in October 2011, 94% of the participants in the programme reported improved family relationships; the number of employed patients rose to the level of 50%; the number of patients adhering to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy increased threefold; 98% reported a lack of legal problems in the past 30 days.
"The OST programme in Tajikistan continues to be funded through grants received from international organisations."