United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

East Asia and Pacific

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		Project Code and Sector Project Background and Justification Objective, Outputs and Main Activities Execution modality and implementation arrangements

VNM J04 - Drug abuse and HIV prevention among ethnic minorities in Nortwest Viet Nam

1. Project Code and Sector

2. Project Background and Justification

The Government of Viet Nam's (GOV) opium poppy eradication campaigns have successfully eliminated large-scale opium cultivation in the northern highland areas. However, while the locally-cultivated drug supply has been eradicated, local drug demand continues to grow - especially among young men in highland and rural areas. Highland provinces possess some of the highest number of known drug users per capita in the country, and drug use behaviour in these areas is transforming rapidly from the smoking of opium to the smoking and, increasingly, injection of heroin. Trafficking is rife in many areas, and in some cases is exacerbated by corruption and the involvement of some local authorities in its sustainability.

In 2003 the Government adopted the current drug control Masterplan for the period up to 2010. The Government has established drug treatment centres in most highland provinces under the guidance of Prime Ministerial Decision 61/2000/QD-TTg, and Government Decrees 20/CP, 34/CP, 06/ND/CP, and 56/ND-CP. Community treatment and rehabilitation programmes are also being piloted by local authorities in many areas; however, few of these have shown any sustained achievement in maintaining abstinence, or HIV risk behaviour change among highlands IDUs. Further, few significant drug abuse prevention activities are taking place due both to a lack of resources and a lack of understanding of the complexity of the local drug use situations in these areas.

3. Objective, Outputs and Main Activities

The project Outcomes are changed to align them with relevant outputs of the UNODC Regional Programme Programme Framework for East Asia and the Pacific (2009-2012); and, in particular, the outputs of the regional sub-programmes on Drug Demand Reduction, and on HIV/AIDS.

Project outcomes are revised as follows:

1. Outcome 1: Enhanced capacity to implement harm reduction amongst law enforcement, health, and drug dependence treatment staff.
2. Outcome 2: Affected communities and service providers have the capacity to contribute to national and provincial responses.
3. Outcome 3: Stakeholders have access to high quality and strategic knowledge.
   • Output 1.1: Police, health, and drug dependence staff at provincial and local levels sensitized to harm reduction approaches.
   • Output 2.1 Support provided to the development of community capacity to participate in the development, implementation and management of programmes focussed on people who use drugs.
   • Output 2.2 Technical guidance provided to provinces and districts to support implementation of local harm reduction programming for IDU.
   • Output 3.1 Technical assistance provided to support collection, analysis, and reporting of data on drug use and HIV.

4. Execution modality and implementation arrangements

The project will be "jointly executed" by UNODC and CEM. This arrangement means the UNODC will exercise full responsibility for all international funds provided, and it will provide technical and policy guidance in conjunction with the Government counterpart, CEM, for the implementation of the project. CEM will exercise full responsibility for all Government-provided (financial and in-kind) contributions.

Implementation of the project will be led jointly by the UNODC and CEM. The Management Unit (CPMU) will consist of one representative from UNODC and one representative from CEM. It will include, as a support unit, one UNODC Project Field Officer, and Government and UNODC administrative project officers.

In addition to the CPMU, the project will appoint Provincial Project Management Units (PPMU) for each project location. The PPMUs will consist of no more than five representatives selected from relevant Government agencies and sectors (e.g. MOH, MOLISA, MPS, districts, communes, etc.) and their role will be to provide guidance, assistance and support to activity planning and implementation as requested by the project.