Depok (8/05) In order to provide better services to the local drug user community, Yayasan Kesehatan Bali (Yakeba) participated in a workshop organized by the National AIDS Commission of Indonesia (KPAN). The workshop was facilitated by the Coalition of Indonesian Addiction Counselors (IKAI), an organization trusted by KPAN to provide good PABM (Community-Based Drug Dependency Treatment) service. The workshop lasted for three days, from the 6th till the 8th of June and took place at the Bumi Wiyata Hotel in Depok, West Java. A total of 12 participants attended, constituting of members of all the PABM implementing organizations in Indonesia.
The goal of the workshop was to improve the implementation of Community-Based Drug Dependency Treatment (PABM in Indonesian). The first phase of Community-Based Drug Dependency Treatment started in 2009 and Yakeba was involved from November 2009 until August 2010.
PABM brings a new alternative solution to drug users in Indonesia who want to free themselves from their addiction. In Bali, addicts (drug users) who want to stop using already have a number of options when it comes to choosing a way how to stop: there are Needle Syringe Programs (NSP), there is the possibility of Heroin substitution (Methadone or Buphrenorpine), as well as regular rehabilitation programs run by local NGO’s. And now there is also PABM as a new and alternative solution for drug addicts who desire to stop using.
PABM uses similar methods as conventional rehabilitation, with the main difference being the duration of the program. Standard rehabilitation usually lasts between three months and one year, with the clients staying at the service facility fulltime. By contrast the PABM program lasts six months, with the clients staying at the service facility only one month and the remaining five months staying at home but attending regular counseling sessions. The aim of PABM is to increase the quality of life of people suffering from drug addiction. Thus PABM is also linked to Care, Support and Treatment (CST) programs addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS.
Yakeba was involved in the training because of its experience applying PABM in the first phase. But the workshop also served as an evaluation tool in order to improve the services of PABM in the next phase. Representatives from Bali were Mr. Yahya from the Bali AIDS Commission, Mr. Adi Mantara from Yakeba and Mr. Nanol Prasetya from Yakita Bali.