Treatnet II Launching Meeting
Pattaya (Thailand), 16 November 2009 - The programme
Treatnet II for South East Asia was launched on 2 November 2009 in Pattaya, Thailand, at a successful meeting opened by UNODC, the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The launch was followed by a three-day planning meeting and workshop. Representatives of Cambodia, Myanmar and Viet Nam - the Treatnet II member countries in the region - presented an overview of the drug dependence and HIV situation, responses, gaps and priorities. Following a workshop on project development and management, each country team developed an initial plan for the demonstration of community-based drug dependence treatment.
Representatives from Malaysia and Thailand attended the meeting with a view to evaluate whether to participate in Treatnet II activities. Key partners in the implementation of drug dependence treatment and HIV prevention interventions in the region contributed to a stimulating and productive discussion that involved representatives from Governments, national and international non-governmental organizations, civil society and entities of the United Nations system.
The meeting laid a strong foundation for the project's implementation, as reflected in the identified joint mission "to develop successful models of community-based drug dependence treatment in South-East Asia". As a follow-up to this event, participating countries will nominate nine trainers each to participate in a regional train-the-trainer effort in December 2009. UNODC would like to recognize the generous contribution of the Treatnet II donors: Canada, Spain, Sweden and the United States of America, as well as the OPEC Fund for International Development.
