DUSHANBE, March 18, Asia-Plus  -- A official opening of the Rehabilitation Center for Drug-dependent Persons was held in Chkalovsk, Sughd province on March 17.

The center entitled Najot (Salvation) has been established by the Sughd health directorate and the Khujand-based NGO DINA under support of the USAID-funded Drug Demand Reduction Program (DDRP), which implemented in Tajikistan by the Tajik Branch of Open Society Institute/Assistance Foundation (OSI/AF).

USAID began providing assistance to Tajikistan in 1993, soon after the country became independent.  Since that time, the American people through USAID have provided some $300 million in programs that assist the development of the country’s economic sector, education and healthcare systems, and democratic institutions.  USAID programs cooperate with ministries, governmental and non-government organizations, businesses, and communities to improve laws, create jobs, increase incomes, improve services, and better manage available resources.

USAID assistance focuses on the country’s structural reforms, improvement of the trade and investment climate, strengthening local governance, support for the National Education Strategy, and prevention of infectious diseases, such as TB and HIV/AIDS.  USAID operates under a bilateral agreement with the Government of the Tajikistan, and is the largest single-country donor organization in the country. USAID programs in Tajikistan are implemented through contracts and grants by more than 30 local and international organizations, including UN agencies, for profit companies, and non-governmental organizations.