Over 500 drug users have registered with NGOs but many more are under the radar and the supply of drugs continues unabated, Congress MLA and chairperson of the Assembly committee on empowerment of women, Ampareen Lyngdoh, said today.
Lyngdoh and committee member Himalaya Shangpliang, the MLA of Mawsynram, were on a visit to Jowai today where they met with police and social welfare officials.
“There were many indicators and we believe that, if not addressed comprehensively, many negatives will emerge from this problem,” Lyngdoh told Highland Post.
“Over 500 users have registered with the NGOs working with the Meghalaya AIDS Control Society and several programmes have begun to address the problem. The district administration is also seized of the situation but drugs continue to reach the city of Jowai. The government has to put in all efforts to cut this supply chain and arrest the kingpins,” she said.
She said that HIV/AIDS continues to rise amongst drug users despite efforts to sensitize, create awareness and put in place effective needle exchange and oral dedication programmes.
Pointing out that the issue of female sex workers is also serious and requires government intervention and designs of rehabilitation programmes to hand-hold and reform such workers, she said that the numbers of HIV/AIDS cases among the sex workers is also alarming despite efforts put in by government-supported NGOs who are aggressively engaged in counseling and periodic testing, inclusive of medical treatment for HIV/AIDS.
Other issues raised by the committee is the linking of Aadhaar numbers with ration cards, which Lyngdoh believed would risk depriving deserving people of the benefits if they do not have Aadhaar cards, and continued high levels of teenage pregnancy. She further said that the maternal and infant mortality numbers remain an issue due to the shortage of medical specialists.
“The MCH (Maternal and Child Hospital) is still not functional since the completion of the building almost two years ago and with unfilled vacant posts,” she said, adding that the nurses are employed on a contract basis, which is a less than ideal situation.
“CAW (crimes against women) are efficiently being addressed on the ground barring slow progress of forensic reports hampering speedy justice for victims of rape and murder,” the opposition MLA also observed.
Meanwhile, Lyngdoh said that several NGOs and headmen who attended the consultation assured a committed effort to jointly address these social evils by creating mass general awareness across the district along with line departments.
