Global Initiative on Substance Abuse (GISA) has commenced the training of prevention experts on drug/substance use in the family in Nigeria.
Speaking at the commencement of the 5-day training in Lagos, the Founder/Executive Director of GISA, Dr. Martin Agwogie noted that family, being one of the most important components of the society must take the central stage in substance use prevention initiatives.
In his words, “family is the smallest unit of socialisation, consequently, for a more meaningful and comprehensive substance use prevention interventions, family should be a primary focus. Today, so many things are wrong with the family setting that constitutes risk for substance use. Until we begin to address these family ills, evolve a healthier foundation for children upbringing with appropriate parenting skills, we may continue to experience an increase in substance use/abuse in Nigeria”.
It is in view of this, that the training was organised to build the capacity of substance use prevention experts who will use the knowledge and skills from the training to deliver prevention interventions within the family setting.
Dr. Agwogie listed some of the topics treated during the training to include risk factors for substance use in the family, warning signs, parenting skills, family bonding for substance use prevention, the role of parents in substance use prevention, family emotional climate and self-regulation, the psychology of human development and developmental goals, global principles and best practices in substance use prevention in the family among others.
According to Dr. Agwogie, “the training is adding to other set of trainings being conducted by GISA, which includes substance use prevention in the school setting, community approach to substance use prevention, and substance use prevention, management and policy in the workplace”, said Agwogie.
Participants were drawn from different parts of the country, professional backgrounds, government and non-governmental organisations.
At the end of the training, they expressed appreciation to GISA for the opportunity to participate in the training which they said was an eye opener.
In the words of some of the participants, “the training content was excellent, very helpful and exceed expectations”, “the level of interaction was inspiring and highly rewarding”, “the time spent was justified”, “insightful, educative and well informed”.
