The IssuesAlmost half of the total population (46 percent) are under twenty years old. For many young people, poverty, lack of opportunity and frustration are the defining characteristics of life. The incidence of alcohol and drug abuse among adolescents, particularly boys, has increased significantly and it is now estimated that over 60 percent of all drug users are males aged 15-30. Along with a general increase in crime rates in Kyrgyzstan, the number of adolescents involved in criminal activities, including trafficking and drug running, has also increased. Young people in the Kyrgyz Republic are highly vulnerable to HIV due to lack of knowledge and skills, to increasingly unsafe sexual behavior and injecting drug use.
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