On January 6–8, 2020, Education Provider Parahita (Kasih Mulia Foundation) held a refresher training on the Universal Treatment Curriculum for Addiction Professionals at Wisma Samadi in Jakarta. The UTC is intended to enhance knowledge, skills, and competencies of addiction professionals, as well as promote evidence-based practice for the enhancement of service delivery and treatment outcomes. The training consisted of presentations, tutorials, group discussions, roleplays and case studies, to prepare 18 participants of addiction practitioners from across Indonesia and 1 participant from...

On January 20-24, 2020, the Institution for the Professional Certification of the National Narcotics Board (Lembaga Sertifikasi Profesi Badan Narkotika Nasional) held a training of assessors on professional certification of Indonesian Addiction Counselors at the Kartika Chandra Hotel, Jakarta. This assessors training is a program to prepare trainees to have competency as assessors according to the National Professional Certification Board (Badan Nasional Sertifikasi Profesi) standards. This activity was carried out to improve the quality of assessors to conduct competency tests, to guide and...

On behalf of ISSUP Kenya, I presented our memorandum to the Mental Health Task Force of the Ministry of Health. The task force, which  was set up following a cabinet directive chaired by the President of the Republic of Kenya, seeks to gather public views on challenges and solutions about the state of mental health in the country. As a professional body we advocated for substance use disorders to be treated as a mental health issue and not just a security or moral  issue.

The Executive Committee of ISSUP Kenya met at the beginning of the year to review the successes and challenges of the previous year and at the same time plan the activities for 2020.

In October 2019, ISSUP Kenya and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa commenced training on UTC for its staff involved with management of persons with substance use disorders. It was a milestone for both ISSUP Kenya and the faith based institution. The series of UTC trainings will continue until mid 2020.

We are incredibly excited to announce that ISSUP Togo National Chapter is currently in the process of registering as a civil society organisation.

The team behind the formation of the Togolese Society of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Professionals plan to launch their National Chapter in September 2020.

ISSUP Togo will support the implementation of the National Anti-Drug Committee (CNAD) five-year national strategic plan (2020-2024) to address drugs and organised crime by providing quality training on prevention, treatment and research for national professionals.

Congratulations to...

AFRICAN NATIONAL CHAPTERS DIGITAL MEETING

The Zoom meeting was hosted by Jeff Lee who invited the African National Chapters to be part of the meeting. The meeting was held on Tue Jan 14, 2020 2pm – 3pm (EAT). Uganda National Chapter was represented by Uganda Youth Development Link (UYDEL) i.e. Mr. Rogers Mutaawe, Mr. Andrew Lubega and Ms. Barbara Nakijoba.

Issues discussed included;

1. Review of minutes from last meeting and the future process
2. Updates on African Regional NC Activity (please provide a brief input on your activity or any issues, questions you may have on your operation as a...

• Establish networks among the major DDR organizations and people working in the country 
• Conduct trainings on DDR for different groups of specialists
• Create a national workgroup on UTC/UPC implementation strategy, start the process of UTC/UPC National Trainers preparation 
• Organize a one-day workshop on Drug Demand Reduction
• Raise awareness of ISSUP within different groups in the country and promote ISSUP National Chapter activities
• Present ISSUP Ukraine at the National Mental Health Conference, organized by the Ukrainian Psychiatry Association and Research Institute of Psychiatry, 22...

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the 6th Freemind International Congress, Dr. Quirino Cordeiro Junior - National Secretary for Drug Care and Prevention - announced that a TECHNICAL COOPERATION AGREEMENT had been signed between ISSUP Brasil and the Union, through the Ministry of Citizenship and through the National Secretariat for Drug Care and Prevention - SENAPRED / MC.

This important agreement promotes a joint effort between the parties to carry out studies, actions and strategies for the prevention of chemical dependence on licit and illicit drugs, in the light of the guidelines of...

Durante o segundo semestre letivo deste ano, 1.300 alunos da rede municipal de ensino  de Londrina (PR) puderam aprender mais sobre as medidas preventivas às drogas. Isso porque eles participaram do Programa Educacional de Resistência às Drogas (Proerd), do Batalhão de Patrulha Escolar (BPEC), da Polícia Militar do Paraná (PM), em parceria com a Secretaria Municipal de Educação (SME).

Os estudantes dos quintos anos da rede pública tiveram a oportunidade de aprender mais sobre drogas, violência, bullying, comunicação verbal e não verbal, pressão sofrida pelas crianças, a importância da...