Minsk, 29 July 2005 - The final stage of a regional sport drive for the prevention of drug addiction, "The Minsk Region Against Drugs," was held in Soligorsk on June 24, the eve of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, within the framework of the Belarus/Ukraine/Moldova Actions on Drugs (BUMAD) programme funded by the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Soligorsk's Stroitel stadium hosted a football match between Soligorsk and Borisov "trouble" adolescents, an exhibition of drawings and posters, a parade of Olympic champions, a concert of pop artists, a show of world famous weightlifter Vyacheslav Khoroneko, and a number of other events the main objective of which was to offer youths an alternative to the use of drugs through the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and sports.

"The problem of drug addiction is global and no one agency or international organization can solve it without assistance," said Valentina Stalyho, the UNDP Programme Manager. "We'll be able to bring the use of drugs to a controllable level only after combining our efforts and experience and balancing approaches."

The anti–drug regional drive, which was conducted from March through June 2005, involved all district centers of the Minskregion in the framework of the BUMAD program and was supported by the Minsk Regional Executive Committee and the National Olympic Committee. The final musical and sports marathon drew about 1000 spectators, senior and middle school age children from all districts of the region.

According to UNDP officers, the completion of the drive certainly does not mean an end to the undertaken efforts. For instance, the Mir radio station will continue broadcasting live shows devoted to the problem of drug addiction. Awareness–raising lectures will be held in children's summer camps. Belarusian television channels will soon broadcast an anti–drug ad featuring one of the best players of the national football team to encourage youths to choose a healthy lifestyle.

For further information please contact the UNDP Programme Officer, Anna Chernyshova, at telephone number 227–81–49, or the Public Information Assistant for the BUMAD programme, Tatyana Shuntova at 8–029–503–95–50.

Photos

Print version