The Colombo Plan ACCE Initiative of Credentialing of Addiction Professionals in the Asia Pacific Region
On 6 June, 2012, in Jakarta, Indonesia, the ACCE Commission, a policy making body for the Asian Centre for Certification and Education of Addiction Professionals (ACCE) was established. The Commission is represented by ten member countries of the Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in the Asia and the Pacific. H.E. Mr. Ahwil Lutan of Indonesia is elected as the Chair of the ACCE Commission. The other members are Mr. Khandker Mohammad Ali (Bangladesh), Dr. Shanti Ranganathan (India), Dr. Benny Ardjil (Indonesia), Dr. Rushidi Ramly (Malaysia), Hon. Minister Uza Lubna Mohamed Zahir Hussain (Maldives), Mr. Edgar Galvante (Philippines), Ms. Bhadradevi Leisha Chandrasena De Silva (Sri Lanka), Mr. Anggoon Patarakorn (Thailand), and Dr. Mohammad Raza Stanikzai (Afghanistan). The Commission is responsible for ensuring the high quality and standard of the ACCE initiative.
Sitting (L to R): Mr. Tay Bian How, Dr. Sallyan Henry (Resource Person, USA), Dr. Shanti Ranganathan (India), H.E. Mr. Ahwil Lutan (Indonesia), Mr. Edgar Galvante (Philippines), Hon. Minister Uza Lubna Mohamed Zahir Hussain (Maldives), Ms. Shirley Backett Mikell (Resource Person, USA), Standing (L to R): Mr. Anggoon Patarakorn (Thailand), Mr. Khandker Mohammad Ali (Bangladesh), Dr. Benny Ardjil (Indonesia), Dr. Mohammad Raza Stanikzai (Afghanistan), Dr. Rushidi Ramly (Malaysia), Ms. Bhadradevi Leisha Chandrasena De Silva (Sri Lanka).
The ACCE is the Training and Credentialing arm of the Colombo Plan’s Drug Advisory Programme. It was established on 16 February 2009, as a part of the global initiative funded by Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, US Department of State to build the international addiction treatment capacity in the world.
The primary rationale for establishing ACCE is to address the growing concerns of substance use disorder and high relapse rate in the member countries which is largely due to lack of trained staff and dearth of evidence based practices in the region. Thus, the ACCE aims to create a cadre of addiction professionals by enhancing their knowledge, skills and competence and thereby, enabling them to provide quality services and care for recovering individuals and families.
The ACCE activities primarily include curriculum development, adaptation and translation of curriculum, implementation of Training of Trainers and Treatment Practitioners, and administration of examination for credential purposes. The initiative prepares addiction treatment staff for professional certification at the entry level by providing the latest information about drug addiction and its treatment and facilitating hands-on activities to develop skills and confidence in a new or minimally trained treatment workforce. The ACCE credentialing process validates skills, knowledge and competence of individuals who are performing their duties optimally within an addictions treatment setting.
The ACCE offers three levels of credentials namely the Basic Level, Clinical Level and Advance Level. This initiative endeavours to train, professionalize and expand the treatment workforce in the region. Therefore, the Colombo Plan would like to encourage all the individuals working in the field of addiction treatment to enhance their clinical skills by enrolling in the ACCE credentialing programme.
