As part of  Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) capacity building initiatives to the prison staff for better management of drug dependent prisoners, a four days long Training of Trainers (ToT) on Drug Treatment and Management Training for prison staff has held on July 25th 2022. Training was organized by the Bangladesh Prisons Department and DAM with the technical assistance of the German development aid agency GIZ and funded by the British Government under the JPRPHRPC project which is implemented by Dhaka Ahsania Mission. Total 18 participants including officers from 5 prisons of Chittagong Division and various centers of DAM participated in the training room of Chittagong Central Jail.

Deputy Inspector General of prison Mr. A.K.M. Fazlul Haque of Chittagong Division Jail was present as chief guest and Mr. Iqbal Masud, Director of Health and WASH Sector of Dhaka Ahsania Mission and Member of National Anti-Drug Committee of Ministry of Home Affairs, were present as guests of the opening ceremony..

Deputy Inspector General Mr. A.K.M. Fazlul Haque of Chittagong Division Jail said that this training will play an effective role in increasing the treatment and management quality of SUD treatment service in prisons. There is no alternative to organizing this kind of training to implement the work that the government is doing to improve the quality of prisons.

Referring to the objective of the training, Mr. Iqbal Masud, Director of Dhaka Ahsania Mission, said that after the training, the trainees will develop themselves as skilled trainers which they can apply in their respective workplaces. Besides, we believe that all the difficulties faced by the drug dependent prisoners in the prison can be improved through proper management.

In the training, expert trainer and resource person session on substance use disorder will be taken by Mr. Iqbal Masud, International Certified Addiction Professional and Global Master Trainer of the Colombo Plan, former Resident Psychiatrist of Central Drug Addiction Treatment Center of Department of Narcotics Control and Addiction Professional Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman, International Certified Addiction Professional and Program Director of “Amar Home” Drug Addiction Treatment Center Md. Tanveer Ahmed. Apart from this, Mr. Ayub Khan, the project coordinator of the JPRPHRPC project, was present for overall cooperation.

It may be mentioned here that Dhaka Ahsania Mission has been implementing the prison project since 2014 with the technical assistance of GIZ Bangladesh on the basis of partnership between the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Department of Prisons. DAM started its drug prevention activities in 1990 and established three Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers for male and female drug dependents. DAM has received 1^st prize several times from the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) for outstanding contribution in treatment and rehabilitation services. In addition, DAM is an education provider of the Colombo Plan for Universal Treatment Curriculum and Living Drug Free (Child) Curriculum in Bangladesh.