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TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, May 24, 2004 — A newly launched network of PSI youth centers on Central Asia's main drug trafficking routes aims to reduce injecting drug use and drug-related harms such as addiction, overdose and HIV infection among Central Asian youth. Injecting drug use is the primary mode of HIV transmission in Central Asia. PSI has youth centers in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Khojand and Khorog (Tajikistan) and Osh (Kyrgyzstan), four of the main points on the route that carries Afghan opium and heroin to destination markets in Russia and Europe. PSI/Central Asia is a key partner in a consortium of NGOs working on a $16.5 million drug demand reduction (DDR) program administered by the Alliance for Open Society International and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. PSI's program targets those youth most likely to use or inject heroin or other drugs, a group sometimes called "pre-injectors." PSI's DDR program focuses on high-risk youth in neighborhoods where drug supply and use are high. Young people living in these communities are more likely to be exposed to HIV, either as a result of sharing injection equipment or through unsafe sex with someone who is infected. The program targets young people who have friends or family members who already inject drugs and "troubled" youth (i.e. school drop-outs, youth from broken homes, young offenders, youth with psychological problems, etc.) living in communities where drugs are easily found and where drug users congregate. PSI's DDR program is designed to empower these pre-injecting youth with reliable information and useful skills that will help them safely navigate their way through the difficult problems and situations. PSI provides information, education and activities that assist at-risk youth to make informed healthy choices on risk behaviors related to drug use and sex. The program follows strictly the principle of peer-to-peer education, using pre-injecting youth to educate other pre-injecting youth. As Tashkent youth center Director Marat Mirzadjanov explained, "The lives of virtually all our peer educators have been touched in some way by heroin. Many of them are siblings, children or friends of current or former heroin users. Some are former users themselves. Because of their experience and direct knowledge of the realities of drug use, our peer educators are perceived as credible sources of information and peer support by the target group." Nargiza Ismailova, a 22-year-old Psychology student, discovered that her younger brother was stealing from home in order to fund his heroin addiction. With help, she and her family were able to break him of the habit, but the experience moved her to become a PSI peer educator at the Tashkent youth center. "Working at the youth center will enable me not only to help people already using drugs, but also their friends who are likely to begin using," says Nargiza. "In addition to doing peer education work with vulnerable youth in the community, I'm running a club out of the youth center. The club is called "Self." I'll use it to provide psychological consultations for troubled youth and simply to provide a helping hand for youth dealing with severe problems in their lives. I want to help them discover their own untapped potential and the positive aspects of their character." The DDR program involves the target group at every stage of program design and implementation, including development of modules, media messages and information, education and communication materials. The program also provides fun and healthy activities to serve as alternatives to drug use. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, youth clubs and services fell by the wayside. Youth - and especially disadvantaged youth in the drug communities which PSI targets - have very few options for extra-curricular activities. The new PSI youth centers provide a wide range of attractive activities for youth, including sports clubs, language lessons, computer and job training, rap and break dance classes, hiking and outdoor clubs, as well as professional youth-friendly counseling and social support. — Rob Gray, PSI/ Central Asia
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