Sober Life International, Students Campaign Against Drugs (SCAD) and Unheard Voices Afrika is a consortium of Civil Society Organizations closely working with the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) in prevention and treatment. Together with the World Federation Against Drugs, they are implementing the project ‘Connecting the Parallels’, which brings together practitioners in the drug prevention and treatment fields to explore practical strategies to collaborate in preventing and mitigating Alcohol and Drugs Use and Abuse in Kenya.

As part of the project, the consortium organized and conducted a 2-days workshop which brought together various Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in the drug prevention and treatment fields in Mombasa County. The workshop was held at the Royal Court Hotel, Mombasa from 24th to 25th January 2024. 30 participants attended the workshop.

The workshop on the first day was opened by the NACADA Coast Regional Manager and WFADs Secretary General Regina Mattsson. The objective of the workshop on the first day was to rally the various CBOs’ so that they work closer together to collaborate to address the problem of drug abuse in their communities. Further, the workshop aimed at imploring the organizations to have their efforts coordinated and collaborative for the well-being of the community. The training was participatory with practical collaborative learning sessions to equip participants with knowledge, skills and confidence to apply the knowledge in their respective organizations. It involved task-based reflective and collaborative learning sessions where participants reflected upon and shared their experiences in small group activities. The training workshop covered the following topics:

1. An overview of the ADA situation in Kenya
2. The importance of collaboration between treatment and prevention
3. National Standards and Guidelines on Prevention Initiatives
4. Parallel Services: Challenges and opportunities in the existing parallel systems
5. Local Initiatives and Success stories from Local CSO organisations and individual experiences in Bridging the gap between Treatment and Prevention
6. National Standards and Guidelines on Treatment Services
7. Collaborative Action Planning

The second day began with a recap of the previous day’s session. Thereafter the participants were divided into four groups to discuss specific challenges and opportunities they face in their roles as prevention and treatment practitioners.