Rationale: (Understanding the Problem: Drug Abuse and Addiction)

Navjeevan Counseling and Rehabilitation project is aimed to work among the drug addicts, by properly rehabilitating them and providing awareness on the spread of HIV & AIDS. The Hindi word Navjeevan simply means New Life. Thus, this project aims to bring newness of life among the vulnerable and underprivileged sections of our society, so that they would have total freedom from their life controlling problems.

Drug abuse and the problem of AIDS spreads all over our country; from nation to nation; to the entire globe infecting every civilized society irrespective of caste, creed, culture and the geographical location and has strictly become a social issue. It destroys not only vitals of the society but also adversely affects the economic growth of the country because this is a trade which generates large un-accounted money which, in turn, leads to adoption of several means of money laundering. Whatever is the origin or source of drug abuse, this deadly practice gravely affects the most productive and dynamic section of our society, that is the age group between 15-40. There is, thus, inestimable loss to the social, economic and cultural life of the people and to wealth of the nation. Drug abuse has been identified as playing a significant part in the spread of diseases like AIDS.

Just as any virus, use of drugs and drug trafficking knows no bonds or limitations. In a national survey conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Environment and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes, it was stated that abuse of different drugs is prevalent in different states of India. Rajasthan has the highest proportion of opium users (76.7%), followed by Haryana (58.0%). So far as heroin is concerned, 43.9% of its users are found in Uttar Pradesh while Orissa and Himachal Pradesh, at 43.9% and 37.3% respectively top in alcohol consumption. This indicates not only the dimension and diversity of the social problem that is facing our country, but also that the problem does not relate only to investigation and law in relation to drug abuse and drug-related crimes.

The statistics released by the Narcotic Bureau also indicate the magnitude of the problem facing our nation. In the last ten years track record, from the year 1996-2006, amongst others 21895 kgs of Opium, 855667 kgs of Ganja, 48278 kgs of hashish and 10147 kgs of heroin have been seized by various enforcing agencies. In the cases arising from these seizures, a total of 142337 persons were involved, including people from outside the country. Out of these, 38030 persons stand convicted for offences while 44656 persons have been acquitted. The rate of acquittal has, varied from 27.7% to 59.1% annually during this period.

Drug problems are part of the larger problems of disease, poverty, unemployment, violence, economic disparity and styles of living. The consequential creations of a growing population of victims of drug abuse and addiction who have to be not only help wean off this habit but also brought back into mainstream living. In India over 5 million people, at present, are estimated drug users and in just five cities alone, including Delhi, has over 100, 000 injecting drug users (IDUs). The overall estimated number of HIV infection in the IDUs in India is 4. 16% but it is much higher in certain areas, for e.g., 80% in Manipur, 44.8% in Delhi and 31% in Chennai. This calls for a serious thinking on the aspect of drug addiction with the aim to also control on the spread of the incurable silent killer HIV & AIDS.

As is the case with drug use in general, injecting drug use often provokes moralistic or judgmental attitudes and responses. Perceiving (and treating) drug users as a 'species apart' may reinforce a sense of moral superiority, but it is unproductive and indefensible. Potentially, anyone could become an injecting drug user or find himself or herself the parent, partner, child, sibling, colleague or friend of a user. Stigmatizing and marginalizing injecting drug users are likely to leave them alienated, fearful, and out of touch with the support and services they may most need. Legal and ethical factors are also creating challenges to the enabling environment. For example, the illegal nature of drug use can lead young people to hide their drug consumption, preferring to inject rather than risk detection through the smell of smoking. This is despite the risk that injecting poses for HIV transmission through clandestine sharing of injecting equipment.

• Current Responses
Navjeevan Counseling & Rehabilitation Center believes that drug addiction is a treatable behavioral disorder thus offers a wide range of substance abuse treatment programs for recovery from addiction and alcoholism and in doing that reducing the spread of HIV & AIDS. Treatment at Navjeevan is the beginning of a new and better way of life. We provide awareness, detoxification, residential rehabilitation, and out-patient drug rehab follow-up programs throughout New Delhi with the highest quality of clinicians, counselors and experienced professionals in the related fields. We emphasize treatment of the physical, emotional, spiritual, and family aspects of the targeted group. Our drug detoxification & rehabilitation center provides immense care and sets high standard in this field of intervention

• Challenges to Development
The major consequences of drug use are transmission of blood borne diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B and C, overdose, various medical and psychological conditions, social costs of widespread drug use such as crime and other anti-social activities, economic costs of acquiring drugs and at the same time treating people infected with HIV/AIDS through their risk behaviors, legal costs of imprisoning drug users, the criminalization of drug use leading to the denial of basic health care and other social services.

The challenges are to identify people who are in risk behaviors, as they don’t come out openly to discuss on their status, especially IDUs who are HIV positive. The other factor is to find different means to empower the vulnerable communities to overcome this social problem and sustain themselves by proper rehabilitation programs. To properly rehabilitate the drug users into the mainstream of the society once they are out of it.