Agartala: The Tripura Government has launched 18 opioid substitution therapy (OST) centres across primary health centres in the West Tripura district.
These OST centres are being jointly operated by the West Tripura district administration and the Tripura State Aids Control Society (TSACS).
These newly launched OST centres are fully funded by the Tripura government. This is a departure from the existing facilities that are run by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and TSACS.
This initiative was inspired by Punjab’s successful Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OAAT). The model aims to rehabilitate drug abuse victims through a combination of counselling and medical intervention.
Tripura has a history of proactive HIV/AIDS response since the late 1990s. Services for injecting drug users (IDUs) were introduced in 2011. Today, the state has an estimated 10,500 IDUs.
As of January, 5520 individuals have accessed services under the OST program and 612 people have successfully completed treatment and reintegrated into society.
