IAS strengthens used syringe collection program

The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) has partnered with private institutions for drug abuse rehabilitation, to launch a new campaign for the collection of used syringes in public spaces in order to maintain the safety and health of the community, the IAS informed in a statement.
The bureau has established a mechanism for cooperation with several private institutions in order to eradicate scattered syringes in public spaces that can result in a number of health issues and negatively affect the safety of the community. This mechanism is a further development of the program initially established in 2008 that saw professional teams operate within the community to collect used syringes in public spaces and other fixed locations.
Another one of the duties of these teams is to be able to provide counseling to drug users, encouraging them to enroll in drug rehabilitation treatments and providing information to cleaning staff of public toilet facilities about how to proceed when they find used syringes in order to minimize risk at collection and disposal.
In the same statement, IAS remarked that it is paying special attention to the reported cases of syringes that have fallen from buildings in the Northern district, reprimanding this kind of “unlawful behavior.”
According to figures from IAS, since the beginning of the program in 2008 to the end of 2015, a total of over 280,000 syringes were collected. The bureau also stated that lately the number of syringes collected has been declining, from over 6,000 syringes per month to a few hundred most recently. IAS believes the declining number proves the effectiveness of the program.  RM