Botswana Association of Addiction Professionals (BAACP) this week celebrated the second cohort of graduants under the Universal Treatment Curriculum for Substance Use Disorders, officially confirming the 55, as certified Internationally Accredited Addiction Professionals.
The six weeks programme consisted of Social Workers and Psychiatrics from the Ministry of Health and Wellness, and Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
The programme intended to enhance the knowledge, skills and competencies of Addiction Professionals, as well as promote evidence based practice for the enhancement of service delivery and treatment outcomes.
The First Lady, Neo Jane Masisi, officiated the graduation ceremony which was held at Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC).
She commended the Ministry of Health for supporting the programme which comes at a time when drug usage is rampant, especially among the youth.
“I am appealing to the Minister of Health, to organize a drug and substance abuse conference because we are sitting on a time bomb, which might go off at any time if we don’t do anything about it,” she said.
She further called upon BAACP to train more Addiction Professionals to increase the manpower involved in fighting the substance abuse scourge.
The Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Edwin Dokoloti commended the graduates for seeing the course to its finish. “I am convinced that you are all equal to the task and will deliver results,” he said.
To give the audience an idea of the state of substance abuse on an international level, The World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative Dr. Josephine Namboze gave a presentation titled ‘WHO Global Perspective on the World Drug Problem’. “Similarly, the rest of the world is also challenged by drugs and substance abuse, mostly among young people aged between 20 and 45.”
Dr. Namboze expressed confidence that the battle can surely be won if countries empower and equip more people to have an understanding of the underlying causes of addiction in order to help patients to learn coping strategies and recognize their unique triggers.
She went on to reiterate WHO’s willingness to stand by Botswana’s Ministry of Health in the promotion of health and wellness in the country.
