At the end of September of this year, Vietnam had an estimated 204,000 people addicted illegal substances, up four times against the numbers from 1994, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (Molisa).
Drug users at a detoxification centre in Hanoi.
These reported users ranged widely in socio-economic and professional backgrounds. They have also been recorded in every province.
Deputy Minister of Molisa Nguyen Trong Dam, said that the attention to detoxification has grown in many cities over the past ten years.
In the last three years, over 155,000 registered drug-users have been taken to detox centres. A number of localities have integrated job placement into detoxification programmes.
Thousands of drug users have seen no relapses after 3-5 years. Between 2011 and 2013, up to 47,000 people have been provided with jobs and loans.
However, some experts have pointed out that a number of localities have not paid due attention to post-rehab support services. Many drug users have not yet been closely monitored and assistance for them remains limited.