Facilitators from the Islamic Republic of Iran and Afghanistan were certified as "SFP trainers" of the Strengthening Family Programme (SFP 10-14 years)
30 April-3 May 2017, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Eight (6 Iranian and 2 Afghan) Strengthening Family Programme (SFP) facilitators were certified as "SFP Trainers of Facilitators" during the second cycle of the Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop organized by the UNODC Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighboring Countries (RP), Sub-programme 3 (SP-3), "Prevention and treatment of addiction among vulnerable groups", in close collaboration with the Iran Drug Control Headquarters (DCHQ) in Tehran, I.R. Iran.
The ToT workshop, which is supported by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was conducted by two SFP international trainers from the United Kingdom. The main objective of the second cycle of the ToT workshop has been the further capacity building of the Iranian and Afghan SFP facilitators to act as SFP Trainers of Facilitators at the national level.
During the opening ceremony, Dr. Parviz Afshar, Director General of the DCHQ Drug Demand Reduction and the Public Participation Office, reiterated that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran will provide full support to up-scale the SFP programme to other provinces whilst it stands ready to support the neighboring countries in implementing the scientific evidence-based drug prevention and treatment programmes through capacity building of professional staff.
Also, Mr.Aref Wahabzade, the Director General of the DCHQ Prevention and Cultural Affairs Office, announced that a four-day national training workshop will be held in September 2017 in Tehran, enabling approximately 60 teachers/clinical psychologist from other provinces to become SFP facilitators. H.E Ambassador of Afghanistan in the Islamic Republic of Iran, who was also present on the occasion, thanked the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the UNODC RP for providing Afghan professionals with the opportunity to participate in the SFP ToT workshop.
In his welcome speech, Dr. Nadeem Rehman, the UNODC Regional Project Coordinator for SP-3, thanked the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for providing its full support, including in arranging the venue for the event, with the latter depicting the close cooperation between the Government of Islamic Republic of Iran with UNODC and its ownership of the SFP Programme.
The SFP Programme is a parent, youth and family skill-building curriculum designed to prevent substance abuse and other behavior problems in teenagers, aimed at strengthening parenting skills and building family strengths. The SFP is rated at the top of the list by international and national review groups including UNODC and the WHO and is now widely used in many countries as a universal primary prevention/intervention programme in schools and communities.
The training was supported by the generous contribution of the Government of Russia.