ENG-1979 — Page 133

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HEALTH

ment, treatment and rehabilitation, and preventive education. Hong Kong also made its fifth annual contribution of $100,000 to the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control in support of its world-wide anti-narcotics efforts, which include the opium poppy crop substitution programmes in the 'Golden Triangle', where the boundaries of Burma, Laos and Thailand meet. It is from this area that most of Hong Kong's opiate drugs come. In support of an appeal made by the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs, that drugs seized by governments should be destroyed, not sold, more than 650 kilograms of opium and morphine were incinerated in a drug destruction ceremony at the Kennedy Town Incinerator in June.

The techniques and methods employed by Hong Kong in its anti-narcotics work have made it an important venue for training anti-narcotics officials from other countries. In 1979 some 130 people from Asian countries came to Hong Kong for study visits and training attachments. They included administrators, doctors, psychiatrists, social workers, police and customs officers.

During the year, Hong Kong also organised, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, an inter-regional training course on the treatment and rehabilitation of drug dependent persons for 25 physicians from Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The course provided participants with an in-depth study into the latest theories and practices of drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation.

As a result of Hong Kong's many efforts, there is increasing evidence to suggest that Hong Kong has not only reached the stage where it can be said that the drug problem has been contained, but that in other vital areas, such as preventing the spread of drug abuse to young people and in the reduction of criminal behaviour among addicts, inroads are being made.

Environmental Hygiene

The work of the Urban Services Department includes street cleaning, the collection and removal of refuse and nightsoil, the management of public toilets and bathhouses, the control of food hygiene, and the disposal of the dead. In the urban areas the department operates as the executive arm of the Urban Council, while the Director of Urban Services is the authority for the New Territories.

Special vehicles collect about 3,050 tonnes of household refuse daily. Of this, some 2,000 tonnes are incinerated and the rest is disposed of at controlled tips or by composting. There is also a nightsoil collection service for the few remaining areas of Hong Kong which do not have a water-borne sewage disposal system.

All streets are swept once a day, either manually or mechanically, while busier thorough- fares are swept more frequently. Flyovers and roads with fast-moving traffic are swept daily by mechanical suction sweepers. Washing of all streets by special vehicles is carried out once a week. Despite this, and the provision of about 21,500 litter bins and containers, litter remains a problem. The 'Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign' is continuing with particular emphasis on public education, community involvement and enforcement of legislation. More than 52,000 people were fined for litter offences during the year.

Controls

To ensure that standards of hygiene are maintained at a satisfactory level, district health inspectors regularly inspect licensed premises, domestic and commercial buildings, and construction sites. Special inspections are also carried out in connection with vermin

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