HEALTH
Holiday Village, a training camp for youth leaders at Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre, exhibitions at popular venues, a drama competition, a long-distance run and a model car race.
The school talks team in the Narcotics Division gave a total of 140 drug education talks to 58 700 students in 100 secondary schools and technical institutes throughout the territory. The division also organised a territory-wide seminar involving schoolteachers and student counsellors in October. To enhance the school talks, a new slide show with synchronised voice-over and background music was introduced in September.
Drug education was also provided for Vietnamese refugees and boat people.
For the ninth year the Youth Against Drugs Scheme provided encouragement and financial support to young people who wished to participate directly in the planning and implementation of anti-narcotics projects. The scheme helped seven groups of these young people. The 60-member ACAN Youth Volunteer Group, established in 1981 to train and encourage young volunteers to play an active part in anti-narcotics work, took part in district campaigns and organised a number of community involvement projects.
To keep in touch with the current trends and thinking of youngsters, the ACAN Youth Advisory Group comprising a cross-section of young people was set up in December 1988 to give advice on educational publicity materials and activities.
The ACAN Drug Abuse Telephone Enquiry Service received 1959 enquiries, the majority seeking information on treatment facilities.
To assess the extent of public awareness of anti-drugs publicity programmes a survey covering some 2 000 households was conducted in mid-1989. The survey results are being processed and analysed.
International Action
Externally, Hong Kong continued to play an active and important part internationally by maintaining close links with the United Nations, inter-governmental agencies such as the Colombo Plan Bureau, Interpol and the Customs Co-operation Council and with governments of countries in South-east Asia, Europe and North America. Hong Kong took part in 15 regional and international meetings and seminars concerned with anti-drug policies, law enforcement, treatment and rehabilitation, and preventive education. In 1989, Hong Kong contributed $131,000 to the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control in support of its world-wide anti-narcotics activities, which include opium poppy crop- substitution programmes in the 'Golden Triangle' on the borders of Burma, Laos and Thailand, the source of most of Hong Kong's opiate drugs. Drug seizures overseas were particularly high, especially in the United States and Australia, requiring extensive co- operation of Hong Kong law enforcement officers with their overseas counterparts.
The techniques and methods employed in Hong Kong have made it an important venue for training anti-narcotics personnel from overseas. During the year, 137 people from 13 countries and international bodies came to Hong Kong on study visits and training courses, either through bilateral arrangements with their governments or under the sponsorship of a United Nations body. Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau and Customs Officers travelled overseas as lecturers or consultants on training courses related to anti- narcotics work.
Environmental Hygiene
The work of the Urban Services Department and the Regional Services Department includes street cleansing, collection and removal of refuse and nightsoil, cleansing of
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