Washington DC – Mr. Tay Bian How, Director ACCE, Ms. Winona Pandan, Training Executive, ACCE and Dr. V. Thirumagal form TTK and an ACCE Master Trainer, attended the International Meeting to Review Capacity Building Curricula for Addiction Treatment Service Providers organised by the INL, US Department of State from 15-17 April 2013 held at the CICAD, Organization of American States (OAS), Washington DC, USA.

The meeting aimed to review the present training treatment curricula offered by the OAS, UNODC and the Colombo Plan ACCE with the intention to develop a common Addiction Treatment curricula to be utilized by the three international organizations in the world. The experts’ panel from the three international organisations reviewed the three separate curricula namely, the Training for Drug Treatment Professionals Basic Level (PROCCER) by the CICAD of the OAS, TreatNet Curriculum of the UNODC and the INL CP ACCE Global Training Curricula with the view of developing the universal common curriculum for training of treatment practitioners.

The ACCE representatives served as panel members together with the following: Alexandra Hill, Maria Luna, Erin Moreno and Maria Lujan of CICAD/OAS; Stefano Berterame, Elizabeth Saenz and Elizabeth Mattfeld of UNODC; Nita Lalla, ONDCP; Thom Browne and Brian Morales of INL, US Department of State; Rhonda Mckillip, Private Substance Abuse Trainer/Consultant.   Ms. Shirley Mikell of SME Consulting facilitated the meeting and guided the panel members in the process of review of the INL/Global Training Curricula which included the nine curricula developed for ACCE. Mr. Thom Browne, Director of Demand Reduction of INL was also present to provide the genesis, rationale and developments of the initiative. The comments and recommendations of the panel of experts will be incorporated in the revision of the training curricula, which will be reviewed further in another meeting to be organized by the Colombo Plan ACCE in October/November 2013.

During the meeting, the Secretary General of OAS, Ambassador Paul Simons together with the Executive Secretary graced the closure of the meeting and was given a briefing about the goal of the initiative.

Seoul, South Korea – The Asian Centre for Certification and Education, with funding support from the INL, US Department of State, and in partnership with the Korean Association for Addiction Professionals successfully implemented the first of a series of training on INL/CP ACCE Global training Curricula for the KAAP Master trainers.   The training was held on 30 March – 6 April 2013 at the Korean Internet Addiction Center, National Information Society Agency.

The programme aimed to enhance the knowledge and skills of KAAP master trainers in substance use addiction, prepare them for certification and most importantly to familiarise them with the content as well as the use of the training curricula.

The sixteen participants were selected from various fields of addiction treatment and are active members of the KAAP.   They were taught and trained on Curriculum 1:  Physiology and Pharmacology for Addiction Professionals, and Curriculum 2:  Treatment for Substance Use Disorders- The Continuum of Care for Addiction Professionals.   During the week-long training, the participants were able to enhance their knowledge and skills on substance use disorder not only from the trainers and the content of the manuals presented but through their collaborative effort in bringing together their experiences and their expertise. Through the various exercises, especially the case studies, they learned more about each other’s areas of specialization.  The discussions likewise helped some of the participant’s  identify the gaps in their  present services.

Most of them appreciated the teaching methodology which was more person-centered, interactive, and collaborative. They all agreed that they had fun   learning and are looking forward to the next training.

During the closing ceremony, DR. Hyun Seob Cho, President-KAAP, thanked the trainers and the participants for their hard work in making the first TOT a successful one.  She expressed her gratitude to  Mr. Tay Bian How , Director-ACCE,   for his support and the INL, US Department of States.

• Experts Group Meeting for the Review of Pre and Post Tests of the Global Basic Addiction Treatment Curriculum (Project No. 2012-17)
• Working Group Meeting for the Implementation of Revised Training Strategy of Afghan Treatment Practitioners (Project No. 2012-12)

The overall objective of these two activities is to ensure high quality and effective implementation of the ACCE initiatives. As part of the series of training conducted in member countries, the ACCE team gauges the effectiveness of the training by obtaining a pre- and post-test of each of the curricula. An effective pre and post training assessment will help the ACCE and its trainers to measure the effectiveness of the ACCE training programme in improving participants’ competency to conduct their work.  It will also help the trainers to assess how effective they were at engaging the participants and imparting the information. The two meetings were chaired by ACCE Director, Mr Tay Bian How, who welcomed the delegates and provided an outline of the objectives of the meeting. The Secretary General of the Colombo Plan. Mr. Adam Maniku also graced the opening of the meeting and encouraged the participants to contribute to bringing the marginalised to the mainstream society by assisting the persons with substance use disorders.

The two sets of meeting participants then separated into different rooms to commence work. The two working groups completed the implementation of a revised training strategy for Afghanistan and the development and finalisation of the pre-and post-test questions for the ACCE curricula over the three working days.

The ACCE has been able has been very active in 2012 with the highlight of the year being the credentialing of 35 addiction professionals. The ACCE has also facilitated 50 initiatives of which 33 were Training of Trainer (TOT) workshops with a total of 1,396 beneficiaries participating in the various ACCE programmes.

In addition, one of the milestones of 2012 was the establishment of the policy making body of the ACCE Commission consisting of representatives of the member countries namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The ACCE Commission adopted the Code of Ethics for the Treatment Professionals and established the three levels of ACCE credentials that would be known as International Certified Addictions Counsellor (ICAC) I, II and III. In June, the ACCE Basic Level credentialing examination was conducted in Jakarta, Indonesia for the Indonesian Master Trainers and Board members.

The ACCE team has also completed 13 training programmes for a total of 360 treatment providers from Afghanistan in 2012. Since 2011, a total of 398 Afghans have been trained out of the 571 that were initially identified as needing training on the 9 ACCE Curricula. The pool of master trainers in Afghanistan was also expanded with further training conducted on Curriculum 1 and 2 in Dubai in the latter part of the year. This is to accelerate the pace of training the 571 Afghan treatment practitioners in the country. With the additional Afghan trainers the major treatment stakeholders would not only have trained staff but would also be able to sustain the training their own staff in the future.

The ACCE programme has also initiated a series of cost-sharing projects where participants pay part of the training to meet the growing demand from addiction professionals for training. This initiative has been very successful with 45 treatment practitioners following the series.

The ACCE Basic Level training series has 9 curricula each consisting of a trainers’ manual and a participants’ manual. In addition, the ACCE team has developed a guidebook on Psychoeducation for Clients and Families in Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation. This book provides counselors with the appropriate material that counselors may use as an aid when conducting psycho-education sessions in their treatment programmes. Although these have been developed in English, translations of these manuals are also being carried out for some of the participating countries namely Afghanistan, Central Asian, Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The ACCE Curricula is also adapted and translated into the national language of the participating countries where the use of the English versions might result in problems in comprehension and understanding. The adaptation and translation of the manuals is therefore an integral aspect of the ACCE global initiative to build the capacity of international drug treatment personnel.

A complete list of ACCE Activities for 2012 can be seen in Annexure A.

The Colombo Plan ACCE activities 2012
The Colombo Plan ACCE activities 2012.pdf
Version: 1.0.1

Author:	The Colombo Plan ACCE
Date:	14 March 2013

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The Cost Sharing Initiative (CSI) is partly funded by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), US State Department. It is designed to respond to the demand for training from treatment practitioners who wanted to undergo certification and be able to provide skills-based and evidence-based practices in SUD treatment.

Usec. Edgar C. Galvante, Permanent Member of the Dangerous Drugs Board and the Treasurer of the ACCE Commission graced the inaugural ceremony, while Mr. Tay Bian How, ACCE Director welcomed the participants and briefed them on the process of credentialing. Mr. Vicente Tico Aldanese, Center Director of We Do Recover was also present.

The two ACCE Trainers, Mr. Tay Bian How and Ms. Winona A. Pandan were supported by Dr. Sun  MIn Kim, Ms. Ma. Elena Cristobal, Mr. Clementa Abella and Mr. Mark Chua in conducting the ten-day training of the basic level training course which included Curriculum 1: Physiology and Pharmacology for Addiction Professionals; Curriculum 2: Treatment of Substance use Disorders (The Continuum of Care for Addiction Professionals), and Curriculum 8: Ethics for Addiction Treatment Professionals.

A total of 31 treatment practitioners from ten (10) government and non-government organizations, representing the three major islands of the Philippines, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and one (1) from Maldives, participated in the programme.   Each of them has shown the willingness and commitment to learning by taking off their “professional hats” and actively participating in various activities during the training.  In the course of their work, aside from gaining knowledge from the materials and shared experiences, the participants were inspired to start working together to create an organization for addiction treatment professionals that will promote and pave the way for the recognition of the workers in this field.

The interest shown by the participants inspired the ACCE to organize a second CSI. Most of the participants who are motivated to further improve their craft made a commitment to attend the next CSI scheduled in Bangkok in March 2013.

What the Participants Said?
“My experience with the training is remarkable. I could say I am privilege to have attended this and it also gave me the opportunity to widen the knowledge and scope of skills I need in this field. I’ve been working in this field for 13 years, had several trainings here and abroad, but my experience with ACCE was again very significant and notable…what I like is the approach because it’s like a 60-40 workshop-lecture type. The discussions in groups, making case studies and the participation of the whole group made it a difference.  Overall, beside the need of it as an eligibility requirement for the examination, the experience is rewarding in the sense that it enhanced my knowledge and skills in addiction treatment. It also gave me a thought to improve our program based on our culture in harmony to the ideals of leading addiction professionals such as NAADAC.” –jerry joseph valderrama

The BNN Chief, Police General Mr. Anang Iskandar, inaugurated the ceremony and underscored the high prevalence of drug use in the country as well as the significance of addiction practitioners in the country to acquire the necessary credentials to enable them to render more effective services to the addicted persons and their families in the country.

The ACCE Director, Mr. Tay Bian How who gave brief opening remarks, congratulated BNN’s efforts in making the certification programme and professionalization of addiction practitioners a reality.  He informed the participants that Indonesia is the first among the Asian countries to implement the certification initiative and acknowledged the leadership and commitment of BNN Chiefs namely, Mr. Anang Iskandar, Mr. Gories Mere and Mr. Ahwil Lutan, and the untiring efforts of the other senior BNN officials, Dr. Kusman Suriakusumah and Dr. Benny Ardjil who have contributed immensely in the process.  He also commended Mr. Ahwil Lutan, who is the current and first ACCE Commission Chairman.

The highlights of the programme were the awarding of the ACCE ICAC Level I certificates to the 12 treatment professionals, who have passed the ACCE Basic Level examination last July 2012 by ACCE Commission Chairman, Mr. Ahwil Lutan, and awarding of the certificates of participation to the 15 participants of the Indonesian Training of Trainers on INL/CP ACCE Global Training Curricula held on 2-11 January 2013 by BNN Chief, Mr. Anang Iskandar.

Among the guest speakers for the first plenary session were Mr. Tay Bian How, ACCE Director, Dr. Shanti Ranangathan, TTK, Ms. Winona Pandan, ACCE Training Executive and Dr. Diah Setia Ufami, Secretary, Ministry of Health.  The topics deliberated during the plenary were the CP ACCE Certification Programme, Benefits of Certification, Overview of the INL/CP ACCE Global Training Curricula, and the Counseling Programme of the Ministry of Health.   In the plenary, the ACCE Cost Sharing Initiative was also promoted to enable more addiction practitioners to partake the ACCE training and certification initiative.

Finally, the Colombo Plan wishes to express its sincere appreciation and gratitude to the National Narcotics Board of Indonesia for organizing the national seminar to promote the ACCE training and certification initiative, as well as the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, US Department of State for funding the ACCE training and certification initiative in the Asia Pacific region.

While curriculum 1 “Physiology and Pharmacology for Addiction Professionals” provided the participants with an understanding on the science of addiction, pharmacological properties of the addictive substances , their consequences on individual, family, and community and  strategies for counteracting stigma, Curriculum 2 “Treatment for Substance Use Disorders—The Continuum of Care for Addiction Professionals”  provided a comprehensive overview of the nature of behaviour change, elements of addiction treatment and evidence-based practices.  Majority of the trainees remarked that the programme would help them to advance in their career. They also outlined a plan of action for conducting training programme based on the 2 curricula in their respective countries.

The TOT was funded by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), US Department of State.

What our participants say

Nathalie Panabokke, Colombo Sri Lanka

“It has been my very good fortune to participate in the Colombo Plan’s often unsung but critical work. Most recently, the Colombo Plan Asian Centre for Certification and Education of Addiction Professionals hosted another successful nine-day Training of Trainers event, this time for drug addiction counsellors from the Maldives’ National Drug Agency and the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense’s National Dangerous Drug Control Bureau. Twenty-five counsellors convened in Colombo for this intensive and practical training exercise that covered two separate curricula on the physiology, pharmacology and treatment of substance abuse. There were seven expert trainers from around the world who led and examined the participants to a position where for the first time they can train others in their home countries and qualify for higher-levels of professional development. Through these exercises, the participants learned about the specific issues and challenges of dealing with addiction in their respective countries and were able to consider how different approaches might work in different contexts. As well as being able to return home better equipped to address the challenges of drug addiction, the participants were also able to expand their professional networks and make some new friends along the way. All in all, we left the training with an appreciation of Colombo Plan’s professionalism and focus on the issues that that matter. I certainly look forward to Colombo Plan’s continued good work”

The highlight of the one-day National Workshop on Addiction Case and Recovery Management was attended by 250 KAAP members, consisted of academicians, social workers, counselors, psychologists and medical doctors in the addiction field, who also witnessed the exchange of MOU between KAAP and CPS. Also present to grace the event was Former Minister of Health, H. E. Chairman Dr. Soung-Yee Kim of the National Gaming Control Commission, who had expressed his support to the partnership between KAAP and ACCE.

Representing the Colombo Plan ACCE, Mr. Tay Bian How commended and congratulated President Cho and KAAP for being the first CP ACCE Approved Education Provider.  With this status, KAAP will train and prepare Korean participants to be credentialed by ACCE; namely the Basic (ICAC I), Clinical (ICAC II) and Advanced (ICAC III) level credentials on cost sharing basis. The ACCE Team will train a pool of Korean trainers on the INL-ACCE Global Addiction Treatment Curricula while the pool of Korean trainers will train others in the country with their own resources.

Lastly, KAAP expressed their sincere gratitude to the Colombo Plan Secretariat for giving them the opportunity to be part of the ACCE certification initiative.  They also expressed their appreciation to the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, US Department of State for funding the Global Addiction Treatment Training Curricula.

On 12^th – 21^st Nov, 2012, the Colombo Plan Asian Centre for Certification  and Education (ACCE) with the funding support  from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), Pakistan and in collaboration with the Ministry of Narcotics Control successfully implemented the Training of Pakistan National Trainers on the INL Global Training Curricula for Addiction Professionals, specifically on Curriculum 1: Physiology and Pharmacology for Addiction Professionals and Curriculum 2: Treatment of Substance use Disorders (The Continuum of Care for Addiction Professionals).   This event was held at the ANF Academy in Islamabad.

The thirteen (13) participants from various government and non-government organizations were selected on the basis of their diverse professional backgrounds as well as extensive work experience in the field of drug treatment and rehabilitation.   During the selection process, it was also ensured that various parts of the country would be represented.

The ACCE Trainers, namely Mr. Tay Bian How and Ms. Winona Pandan were supported by Ms. Farheen Siddique of Drug Free Pakistan and Dr. Salman Shazad from the University of Karachi who have both completed the ACCE Training of Trainers on the INL Global Training Series.  Mr. Jason Spellberg of INL Pakistan graced the brief opening ceremony on 12 November 2012. He expounded the seriousness of substance use disorders in Pakistan and substantiated that it is timely to introduce evidence-based practices in the country to reduce the rate of relapse among individuals with substance use disorders.

During the training, the participants were updated with new knowledge and skills relating to components relating to drug treatment and rehabilitation. They learned through interactive and experiential methodologies employed by the trainers.  The participants were very proactive; they listened attentively, asked questions and participated in the role plays and other group presentations.  They were opened to receive feedback especially during the exercises and became more creative with their presentations

The Closing Ceremony was graced by the presence of  Mr. Javed Iqbal, Secretary Ministry of Narcotics Control and Mr. Mian Zulqarnain Amir, Joint Secretary MNC as well as Brg Sardar Ahmad of ANF Academy. Mr.Iqbal and Mr. Amir expressed their gratitude to INL, Pakistan, and the Colombo Plan ACCE for making the initiative a reality. Mr. Amir requested that the ACCE continues to provide training for the participants in the remaining curricula so that they could be certified. Mr. Iqbal, during his speech challenged the participants to share what they have learned to their colleagues and improve the quality of services they provide for the victims of drug abuse.  Dr. Aisha Siddiqa from MNC was the master of ceremony and she spoke how organised the training prgramme was conducted. Mr. Sabir Hussain gave a reflection on the training where he mentioned that it was the first comprehensive training he ever attended in his entire career as an SUD treatment practitioner.

Here are what the participants have to say:

“It is my pleasure to share my experiences during the training of Colombo Plan ACCE. First of all, I would like to thank Colombo Plan to organize such an interactive training for the treatment practitioners in Pakistan. It benefited me to learn about drug addiction and SUDs in a very comprehensive manner and how a practitioner can make the treatment simple and effective. I also came to know about the treatment of SUDs starting from pretreatment intervention till post treatment and continue of care with the help of latest effective techniques and methodology. Aspects that I have learned are science of addiction, family system and codependency, recovery and management, motivational enhancement, components of treatment and evidence based practices which I will never forget. I have started to implement different approaches in our treatment facility through individual counseling, family counseling, family education, conducting group sessions and psycho educational lectures. Hopefully, I will conduct training on learned material on drug treatment for staff as well. This all is possible due to the energetic, experienced and knowledgeable trainers who conducted their sessions in an interactive and friendly manner. They made every participant active and developed interest to participate. Group work and presentation made the environment more favorable to learn and share. The way they delivered the training really kept us awake and encouraged us towards purposeful learning.”  – Noreen Begum, Clinical Psychologist Benazir Shaheed MATRC, ANF, Karachi

“Of course, it was a great event. It is the beauty of Colombo Plan training methodology i.e. learning by doing and made training fun. You may have seen that the trainers were creating it more interactive by frequently reshuffling the small groups to have a balanced learning environment. I can relate that everyone beneficiated equally. I do believe that the basic knowledge we gained will probably bring a change in our attitudes towards the SUDs and ultimately change in behaviour that is a true learning. So Learn, Teach & Expand.”   Farman Ali, Project Manager Model Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Center Islamabad,

“I believe Colombo Plan took a good initiative to train addiction treatment providers in Pakistan. There are many treatment centers and a large number of treatment providers in Pakistan but only a few know much about the nature of the problem. Treatment providers in Pakistan are ignorant of evidence based practices. Though the history of addiction treatment in Pakistan goes back to 1980s still treatment providers lack knowledge and appropriate skills to help drug addicts start their journey towards recovery. The Colombo Plan ACCE Initiative of Training Addiction Treatment Providers in Pakistan will help fill the gap … All the trainers exhibited excellent communication skills and coordination amongst the trainers fascinated me. No doubt, the trainers were full of energy and kept us fully alert and actively involved to make learning a joyful experience. They managed to motivate us to enhance our learning in the field of drug addiction treatment.” Dr. Mahmooda Aftab, Executive Director Aghaz-e-Nau

With funding from Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, US Department of State, The Colombo Plan Asian Centre for Certification and Education of Addiction Professionals (CPACCE) and in collaboration with UNODC Central Asia convened a five-day experts group meeting in Dubai, UAE from 4 to 8 November 2012 to adapt and translate two training curricula to the Russian language. This is in preparation to implement training of INL ACCE basic training curricula in Central Asian countries in early 2013. This ACCE initiative aims to enhance the competency of addiction practitioners in Central Asia through acquisition of knowledge and skills on addiction, counseling and evidence-based drug treatment and rehabilitation approaches; as well as to enhance the efficiency of treatment programmes in Central Asia.

In this Joint Colombo Plan ACCE – UNODC Experts’ Group Meeting on the Adaptation and Translation of ACCE Training Global Curricula to the Russian language, the experts covered two curricula namely; Curriculum 1: Physiology and Pharmacology for Addiction, and Curriculum 2: Treatment for Substance Use Disorders: The Continuum of Care for Addiction Professionals. This Experts Group meeting was chaired by Mr. Tay Bian How, Director ACCE, with assistance from Dr. Vicky Kim, Associate Professor from Adama Science and Technology University, Ethiopia and Ms. Gulmira Sulaymenova, ACCE Programme Officer. During the meeting, the 9 experts from five Central Asian countries, welcomed the initiative and committed to assist in the implementation of the training of trainers that is planned for Spring 2013.

Lastly, the Colombo Plan wishes to express its sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, US Department of State for funding this initiative.