Training for drug treatment professionals gets underway

Islamabad :A week-long Training of Trainers (TOT) for Pakistan’s drug treatment professionals got underway at Bhurban here on Friday. The training seeks to introduce participants to modern training methods and facilitation competencies for effective treatment and rehabilitation of patients within the overarching objective of reducing the socio-economic burden inflicted by drug dependence.

The training has been organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Narcotics Control and with support from the United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

At the end of the training, the participants will have learnt the use of appropriate levels of intervention when approached with difficult training situations through train, direct, lead, listen, observe and support methodology, and deliver training on the evidence-based Universal Training Committee (UTC) curriculum to promote learner engagement for critical thinking.

Other key goals of the training course are to enhance the quality of treatment services, expansion of the continuum of care provided to persons with substance use disorders (SUDs) and their families and increased efficiency of treatment programmes; enhance the competency of Pakistan SUD practitioners through knowledge and skills-based training to ensure that implemented practices are evidence-based and treatment services are structured and affordable; and to ensure national and sustainable ownership of the UTC training programme by closely coordinating with the government agencies such as NCD/ANF and the Ministry of Health in incorporating trainings in their academia/training curricula and incorporating the material into local universities.

Speaking on the occasion, UNODC Country Representative Jeremy Milsom applauded the efforts of all members of the UTC from the Ministry of Narcotics Control, Health and Education institutions for being proactive for the UTC programme being implemented by UNODC in Pakistan. He also thanked the INL State Department of US for their support.

Secretary Ministry of Narcotics Control Amjad Javed Saleemi PSP emphasized the need for collective actions from the government, private and non-government organizations to scale up the existing drug prevention and drug treatment interventions.

Representing the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Department, Lauren Meehling (Counter Narcotics, Corrections and Rule of Law Officer) congratulated UNODC and the Ministry of Health for focussing on trainings with a special focus on capacity-building for delivery of evidence-based drug dependence treatment and care services in Pakistan through the implementation of the UTC training strategy.

Substance use disorders constitute a public health, developmental and security problem, both in industrialized and developing countries worldwide. Prevention and treatment of drug use disorders are essential demand reduction strategies of public health importance and form part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals as Target 3.5 of Goal 3 Health for All.

A national drug survey was conducted in Pakistan in 2012 to estimate the patterns and prevalence of drug use and addiction in the country. This study provided reliable baseline information on the prevalence and patterns of drug use among population aged 15 to 64 years. A series of surveys was conducted throughout the four provinces and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, including interviews of 4,533 high-risk drug users; 58 drug treatment centre representatives; 1,198 key informants; and 51,453 participants randomly selected from the general population. The survey revealed that approximately six per cent of the population, or 6.7 million people had used any controlled substance including misuse of prescription drugs, in the last year.

Building on the results obtained by the Colombo Plan-led UTC implementation in the country, INL requested UNODC to take over the UTC process and to submit a proposal to complete the project in the coming 24 months. This proposal therefore provides the elements which UNODC considers are necessary in order to ensure an effective, realistic and timely implementation of the UTC activities in Pakistan.