2006 Programs and Events

U.S. Embassy Opens New $650,000 Dollar Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Savannakhet
February 16, 2006

Ms.Kristen Bauer, Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane number 3 from Right

On February 16, 2006, Kristen Bauer, Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane, and Peter Prahar, Director of the Office of African, Asian and European Affairs of the Bureau of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement inspected the newly-constructed 100-bed methamphetamine treatment and rehabilitation center in Savannakhet. Other U.S. officials accompanying Ms. Bauer and Mr. Prahar were Terrance Daru, U.S. Counselor for Narcotics Affairs in Bangkok, Clifford Heinzer, U.S. Director of Narcotics Affairs in Vientiane, and CDR Bryan Konst of the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force West in Hawaii.

Construction of the Center began in mid-2004, in response to explosive growth in the number of methamphetamine abusers among the youth of Laos.

The Center is located about 22 kilometers from Savannakhet City, a southern provincial capital, and will service a populace of 800,000 people, or fifteen percent of the country's total population. The province estimates that there are at least 2,000 methamphetamine addicts in serious need of treatment, and the center can accommodate up to 200 per year. The ATS Center is an important step towards reducing demand for this dangerous drug.

The cost of the construction, including medical equipment and furnishings, totaled US$650,000.