Ho Chi Minh City has launched campaign to send 177drug addicts whose residence registration is in the city to compulsory detoxification centers as of March, 2016.
Head of the municipal department of social evil prevention Tran Ngoc Du said that the city has handled successfully addicts who are not city citizens; therefore, it is time for compulsory rehabilitation for those whose residence registration is in HCMC.
177 addicts are the first addicts who are forced to go to rehabilitation institutions. For 11 first months of 2014, the city did not send any addicts into rehab centers. From December, 2014 and the whole 2015, the city has sent homeless addicts into social rehab facilities while addicts with residence registration in HCMC will undergo detoxification at homes as per during 6 months the government’s decree.
Also according to the government’s decree, addicts must be sent to compulsory rehab centers if they fail to undergo detoxification at homes.
In order to encourage addicts to undergo detoxification at home, since 2016, the city authority has given VND1,260,000 (US$56.5) to an addict with permanent residence registration in the city. Currently, medical clinics in districts failed to cover the detoxification procedure as per the regulation ; accordingly, from 2016, the city authority decide to send all addicts to 5 compulsory rehab centers for 15 days and then they will be sent back to the family.
Thanks to the city government’s support, 244 addicts in Binh Thanh District partook in detoxification procedure at homes; similarly, other districts have seen an increase in the number of voluntary addicts in detoxification procedure at homes. Total 841 addicts in districts in the city agreed to undergo the detoxification procedure at homes.
