INDIA Shillong, Meghalaya. Portrait of a recovering drug addict applying lipstick at the NEW HOPE drop-in centre where addicts and alcoholics are helped to recover. Alcohol is a major problem in northeast India but far less stigmatized than drug addiction.
INDIA Aizawl, Mizoram A drug user showing the syringe that he uses to inject the drug Spasmo Proxyvon (SP), a cheap substitute for heroin and a very common drug in northeast India. Spasmo Proxyvon often causes abscesses on the legs and other parts of the body when injected.
NORTH EAST INDIA, MEGHALAYA, JOWAI. NOVEMBER 2006 Portrait of Hameht Nongton at a drop-in center. Here young ex addicts recover from their heroin addiction.
INDIA Shillong, Meghalaya An ex heroin addict at the NEW HOPE drop-in centre shows his tattoo and the scars resulting from a car accident.
NORTH EAST INDIA, MEGHALAYA, SHILLONG. NOVEMBER 2006 A drug user is preparing one of the seven heroin shots of a normal day. M.D.S has been lying to his parents and to his wife who believe he has quit using heroin. Being from a wealthy background, he can afford pure heroin every day and new needles which, he thinks, has prevented him from being infected by HIV.
NORTH EAST INDIA, MIZORAM, AIZAWL NOVEMBER 2006 David is preparing a dose of Spasmo Proxyvon, a cheap substitute for heroin and very common drug in this area of North East India. Spasmo Proxyvon has very bad physical effects if injected, it creates abscess on the legs and other parts of the body.
NORTH EAST INDIA, MIZORAM, AIZAWL NOVEMBER 2006 David is injecting a dose of Spasmo Proxyvon, a cheap substitute for heroine and very common drug in this area of North east India. Spasmo Proxyvon has very bad phisical effects if injected, it creates Abscess on the legs and other parts of the body.
INDIA Aizawl, Mizoram A drug user after injecting himself with a syringe of the drug Spasmo Proxyvon (SP), a cheap substitute for heroin and very common drug in this area of North East India. Spasmo Proxyvon has very bad physical effects if injected, it creates abscess on the legs and other parts of the body.
INDIA Shillong, Meghalaya The view of Shillong from the Voluntary Health Association of Meghalaya building in the Mawkhar district.
INDIA Aizawl, Mizoram A drug user looking in the mirror to find a vein while injecting himself with a syringe of the drug spasmo proxyvon (SP), a cheap substitute for heroin and a very common drug in northeast India. Spasmo proxyvon often causes abscesses on the legs and other parts of the body when injected.
INDIA Aizawl, Mizoram A young commercial sex worker (left) and one of the workers from the Mizoram People Living with HIV/AIDS Society (M-PLAS) at night. M-PLAS provides condoms for the sex workers and makes them aware of HIV/AIDS related issues.
INDIA Aizawl, Mizoram An AIDS patient looking in a mirror at the Grace Home Hospice. She is pictured together with her sister. Grace Home, which has only ten beds, provided care for 160 AIDS patients between March 2004 and November 2006.
NORTH EAST INDIA, MIZORAM, AIZAWL NOVEMBER 2006 Lalsangliani, Aids patient at the Grace Home Hospice. With only ten beds for the whole state of Mizoram, Grace Home gives care to Aids patients in their sickest moments. Between March 2004 and November 2006, 160 patients were admitted: 56 have died.
INDIA Aizawl, Mizoram Lalsangliani, an AIDS patient, receiving a blood transfusion at the Grace Home Hospice. Grace Home, which has only ten beds, provided care for 160 AIDS patients between March 2004 and November 2006.
INDIA Aizawl, Mizoram Recovering drug addicts at Blessing Home, a centre for the detoxification and rehabilitation of people with drug or alcohol related addictions. Patients who try to escape are chained and released only to work or bathe in the river. The chains are removed when they accept that they have made a mistake.
INDIA Jowai, Meghalaya A former drug addict takes a dose of Subutex (buprenorphine), the main substitution drug for heroin, at a drop-in rehabilitation centre in Jowai. Patients attend the centre to receive their treatment as part of a direct observation protocol. This prevents the possibility of the substitution drugs being illegally sold on the street.
NORTH EAST INDIA, MIZORAM, AIZAWL NOVEMBER 2006 The wounds of a recovering addict at the Drug Addiction Center of the Presbyterian Hospital. Here patients are being treated their abscess on their legs and body due to injecting Spasmo Proxyvon, a cheap substitute for heroine and very common drug in this area of North east India. The main purpose of the center is to rehabilitate the patients.
INDIA Aizawl, Mizoram A portrait of a young boy on the rehabilitation programme at TNT Calvary Hospital. The centre facilitates the rehabilitation and detoxification of drug addicts.
NORTH EAST INDIA, MIZORAM, AIZAWL NOVEMBER 2006 Jessica, an HIV positive 16-month girl at the Gan Sabra orphanage is helping Michael. Jessica was adopted by Lucy Maruati who funded the orphanage in April 2006 because HIV positive kids were not accepted in the other orphanages in Aizawl. Jessica's mother was a commercial sex worker and a drug addict and she tried to have an abortion but it did not go well. When Jessica was born she did not want her.
INDIA Aizawl, Mizoram Biakteni, a seven-year-old girl, at the Gan Sabra orphanage. This unique children's home was set up because many HIV positive children were not accepted into the other orphanages in Aizawl. Although she is not HIV positive, Biakteni has been neglected since she was born.
INDIA Aizawl, Mizoram Chhana, a young AIDS patient, sits with his grandmother at the Grace Home Hospice. Grace Home, which has only ten beds, has provided care for 160 AIDS patients between March 2004 and November 2006.
INDIA Aizawl, Mizoram The Drug Addiction Centre at the Presbyterian Hospital. Drug addicts are commonly treated here for body abscesses caused by injections of the drug spasmo proxyvon (SP).
