Coordination Meeting on Cooperation between the Government of Indonesia and the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme in Drug Demand Reduction Efforts in Indonesia was held on 19 May 2021.

Cooperation between the Indonesian National Narcotics Board (BNN) and the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme (CPDAP) has been very closely intertwined over the years and has collaborated in various activities, especially in the field of capacity building for the treatment and prevention of substance use disorders.

Deputy of Law and Cooperation of the BNN, Drs. Puji Sarwono explained that “CPDAP had been a partner of BNN for a long time. Over the past few years, CPDAP has supported BNN a lot in efforts to increase the capacity of BNN personnel, particularly in the treatment or rehabilitation program. We hope that in the future, this support can continue to be increased in other fields as well,” said Mr. Puji, during the opening session of “the Coordination Meeting on Cooperation between the Government of Indonesia and the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme in Drug Demand Reduction Efforts in Indonesia”, in Bekasi, Wednesday, May 19, 2021. Mr. Puji said that this meeting was very important, and in this case BNN as the focal point must continue to maintain this mutual cooperation with CPDAP.

On this occasion, the ranks of the BNN consisting of the Directorate of Cooperation, the Deputy for Legal Affairs and Cooperation, the Deputy for Rehabilitation and the Deputy for Prevention of the BNN, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia and the Ministry of State Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia exchanged various information and gather input related to the achievements that have been carried out with CPDAP in Indonesia and recommendations for what can be done together in the future. The input will later be submitted to the Ministry of State Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia for reporting purposes and to explore other possible collaborations.

Meanwhile, Mr. Erry Wijoyo, Program Officer of CPDAP explained that “CPDAP is here to focus on capacity building through training and other various initiatives. We also focus on providing space for professions in the field of treatment and prevention such as counselors and extension workers to be recognized professionally,” added Mr. Erry. Regarding training initiatives, Mr. Erry said that “CPDAP has developed various curricula and modules that are useful for implementers in the field and policy makers.”

From the cooperation that has been carried out so far, Dr. Yoseph Jodi, a representative from the Directorate of Post-rehabilitation (aftercare) BNN, said that “One of the benefits that can be felt is the quality of rehabilitation services which is increasing from year to year. This cannot be separated from the support of CPDAP which has provided training, especially to counselors and other addiction professionals.”

Overall, all parties feel that the CPDAP’s presence in Indonesia has greatly benefited so far and hopes that this can be extended to other aspects.

Quoted from: https://bnn.go.id/kerja-sama-bnn-colombo-plan-diharapkan-meningkat-bagai/