DUSHANBE, April 2, Asia-Plus  -- A ceremony of handover of 16 computers to medical facilities was held in Dushanbe on April 1. 

The computers has been provided by the Tajik Branch of Open Society Institute/Assistance Foundation (OSI/AF) to improve keeping drug addiction statistics in relevant medical facilities of Tajikistan.  

Sulhiddin Nidoyev, the head of drug control and drug addiction prevention center within the Ministry of Health (MoH), said that the computers will be used for registration and statistical analysis of those most vulnerable to drug addiction and other high-risk groups.  

According to a MoH, as of January 1, 2008, 8,500 drug-dependent persons have been registered with Tajikistan’s Republican Narcology Clinic.  They include 4,316 residents of Dushanbe, 1,673 residents of the Sughd province, 1,023 residents of the Khatlon province, 851 residents of districts subordinate to the center (RRPs) and 729 residents of Gorno Badakhshan.