THE FIRST ACCE COMMISSION MEETING, JAKARTA, INDONESIA, 4-6 JUNE, 2012
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 Colombo Plan ACCE aims to professionalize the addiction treatment providers of the Asia – Pacific region through training, examination and credentialing and thereby address the growing concerns of substance use and high relapse rate which is largely due to lack of trained staff and dearth of evidence based practices in the region. In order to ensure the high quality and standard of this initiative, it was imperative that the ACCE establishes a policy making body.
The ACCE Commission was thus established on 4 June, 2012 through a meeting held in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Commission is composed of 10 members representing 9 member countries of the Colombo Plan. H.E. Mr. Ahwil Lutan of Indonesia is elected as the Chair, Dr. Shanti Ranganathan of India as the Secretary and Mr. Edgar Galvante of the Philippines as the Treasurer of the ACCE Commission for a term of 2 years. The other Commission members are Mr. Khandker Mohammad Ali (Bangladesh), 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).
Following the establishment of the ACCE Commission, the First ACCE Commission meeting was held in Jakarta from 4-6 June, 2012 in collaboration with National Narcotics Board (BNN), Indonesia. The meeting was attended by all the 10 Commissioners. Ms. Shirley Beckett Mikell, Director of Certification, NAADAC, USA, Dr. Sallyan Henry, President of Professional Testing Cooperation, New York USA, Mr. Tay Bian How and 5 ACCE staff were also present in the meeting. In course of the meeting three Sub-Committee namely, training; examination and certification; and ethics were set-up. Each sub-committee is represented by 3 ACCE commissioners and the Chairman H.E Ahwil Lutan is the ex-officio member of all the three sub-committees.
The newly elected Commission reviewed, finalized and adopted the ACCE Commission policies and procedures, the Code of Ethics for the Commissioners and also the Code of Ethics for the Treatment professionals who would be credentialed through ACCE. The eligibility criteria for the 3 levels of ACCE Credentials were also finalized. The Commission members signed the “Code of Ethics for the ACCE Commissioners” and took an oath to abide by the ethical guidelines.
Subsequent to the meeting, the ACCE Commissioners electronically approved the names of the ACCE Examination and Credentials. The Credentials have been named as “International Certified Addictions Counsellor” with the acronym ICAC. It was decided that the Basic Level Examination would be known as ACCE I and the credentials as ICAC I. The Clinical Level Examination would be known as ACCE II and the credentials as ICAC II. The Advanced Level Examination would be known as ACCE III and the credentials as ICAC III.
