All available resources should be effectively moblised to prevent and control AIDS, drugs and prostitution, stressed Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at a conference in Hanoi on September 7 to review work related to the topic in first half of 2012 and plans for the second half of the year.
Deputy PM Phuc, who is also Chairman of the National Committee for AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution Prevention and Control, also asked relevant ministries, sectors and localities to strictly follow the Party’s documents and instructions, as well as the State policies and laws related to these issues. Press agencies should also enhance raising public awareness of these social evils, he added.
According to a report released at the conference, there were nearly 171,400 registered drug addicts in the country as of the end of May 2012, an increase of nearly 12,800 over the same period last year. In the first half of this year, approximately 16,000 drug addicts nationwide underwent rehabilitation and more than 2,000 have been supported with employment.
The report also stated that prostitution has become very complicated, with sophisticated operations across all cities and provinces. It also said there are more than 30,000 prostitutes in the country but only 13,928 are listed in police files.
Source: Nhan Dan