The Tribune

WITH funding from the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, the US Embassy’s International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Section is partnering with the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre to create a cadre of internationally certified drug treatment staff in the Bahamas.

As part of this programme, the first two-week, train-the-trainer training of the Universal Treatment Curriculum (UTC) for Substance Use Disorders began at the Public Hospitals Authority on October 27. Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez formally launched the training programme at a small opening ceremony where he emphasised the importance of providing holistic treatment for substance use disorders to prevent and reduce demand for dangerous drugs and crime.

Over the course of the next year, personnel from the Colombo Plan’s International Centre for Certification and Education of Addiction Professionals will train and certify a group of master trainers in the Bahamas who, in turn, will train others in the Bahamas and throughout the Western Hemisphere. These practitioners will also promote evidence-based practices for the enhancement of drug treatment service delivery and outcomes.

The two-week course that began on October 27 was the first in the UTC series. Participants are required to participate in the entire series of training before sitting the certification exam. The exam will qualify practitioners to become International Certified Addictions Counsellors (ICAC I), an internationally-recognised certification for drug treatment personnel.

A total of 19 people are currently taking part in the programme from various government and non-governmental organisations, including the Ministry of Education, Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, National LEAD Institute, Bahamas Association of Social Health, Willie Mae Pratt Centre for Girls and the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys. The UTC content is interactive, and includes role playing and group discussions in addition to classroom-based lectures. The group of master trainers has so far found their first two weeks of training to be memorable.

One participant commented that the training was “as fun as it (was) hard work”.