UNODC assists Seychelles in drug counseling training |22 October 2013
A group of professionals from the ministries of Health and of Social affairs, as well as from the prison and police departments, and who in everyday life are faced with the scourge and effects of drug use, are since yesterday attending a week-long course on drug counseling at the Ephelia Resort at Port Launay. The training is being conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as part of the assistance which it offers Seychelles in combating criminality.
The workshop was officially opened yesterday morning by the Minister for Home Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan, in the presence of the Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Paul Adam and the main facilitator from UNODC Dr Reychad Abdool.
In a short speech, Minister Morgan reiterated Seychelles’ zero policy approach on drug consumption and trafficking. At the same time, he stressed on the need to help and cure those affected by the problem.
“We cannot only send people to prison, but we must find out why a person went to prison in the first place,” he said.
During the week, the course beneficiaries will have the opportunity to broaden their knowledge on topics such as the biology of drug dependency, principles of drug dependency counseling, interviewing techniques, cognitive behaviour therapy, and relapse prevention.
They will also devise a special anti-drug therapy programme containing practical steps which will help them improve their work.
The UNODC representative, Dr Abdool, has said that the current training workshop is only the beginning of a comprehensive programme which his organisation wants to run in Seychelles.
He has announced that a second workshop will be held for health workers in December, before another for the education sector early next year.
Apart from the training programme, the UNODC -- which is present in thirteen countries in East and South Africa -- is also supporting Seychelles in prison funding and administration as well as in prisoner rehabilitation.