In the context of the Pompidou Group’s continued assistance to Ukraine in the rollout of Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) in prison since 2018, and with the support of the Joint Project “European Union and Council of Europe working together to support the Prison Reform in Ukraine Plus” (SPERU+ Project), another hybrid prison staff training was co-organised with the Health Center of the State-Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine and the Global Initiative on Psychiatry Ukraine (GIP), on 6-7 November.
The multidisciplinary group of participants coming together in Kyiv was composed of 15 healthcare professionals, security staff and educators from Lutsk and Rivne region in Western Ukraine. The training provided in-depth knowledge on medication-assisted treatment in prison, external factors that influence treatment effectiveness and showcased the drug treatment systems of the Republic of Moldova and Slovenia. Learning from the experience of other countries, including neighboring ones, proved to be fruitful and can be a source of inspiration, as noted by the participants of the training.
The Executive Secretary of the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe, Denis Huber, reminded the participants in his welcome address that “people sent to prison do not leave their human rights outside the prison gates, whether or not they use drugs. It must be clear that prison is the punishment for the crime, not the absence of treatment. And providing treatment for people with opioid addiction also means guaranteeing their right to a healthy life”.
Participants were glad to share their observations and feedback, emphasising especially the usefulness of situational exercises and case studies which complemented the theoretical inputs by international experts, and the operational procedures that were presented by local trainers.
All in all, the hybrid training equipped the participating prison staff with the necessary theoretical knowledge along with the right tools and evidence-based practices to successfully start and run treatment in line with international standards.
