Training Courses

Training courses

The Partnership organize training courses on harm reduction and humanitarian drug policy for National Societies and other civil society organizations worldwide. These training sessions aim to reinforce skills and capacity of RCRC Societies and other CSOs in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of community-based interventions in the field of harm reduction, HIV/HCV prevention and substance abuse treatment. Until now, 36 training courses on drug abuse treatment and harm reduction programmes have been conducted, with the participation of more than 61 RC/RC National Societies and IFRC regional offices and 14 CSOs from all the regions of the world.
Training content and methodology

The training lasts five full days and includes a mix of theory and practice, with the active involvement of participants through working groups, role plays, brainstorming. Normally, the training are conducted in the premises of Villa Maraini Foundation, in order to give participants the possibility to see and get involved in the daily work and activities of Villa Maraini’s services, and interact with clients. If required, the Partnership organizes also trainings abroad, in cooperation with the National Society that requests for it.The training is conducted in English. If needed, it is possible to organize simultaneous translation in other languages, to enable the participation of no-English speakers.  The team of trainers is composed of high qualified and experienced professionals, including medical doctors, psychologists and social workers of Villa Maraini Foundation, plus an expert from the IFRC Health Department.  The training covers a wide range of topics, in order to present a comprehensive approach toward drug abuse, based on public health and human rights principles. 

The sessions include:

Drug addiction: meaning and characteristics

Overview of drugs and their effects

Harm reduction strategy

Drug use and social vulnerabilities (HIV/AIDS, TB, HCV, etc.)

Attitude toward drug users: a comparison between the “traditional method” and the “harm reduction” approach

Effective integrated service delivery for PWUDs: the model of Villa Maraini

Outreach work: street units, NSPs, use of naloxone in overdose intervention

Opioid substitution treatment 

The work with family

Advocacy for humanitarian drug policy

In collaboration with the IFRC Health Department, the Partnership has developed an online training course on substance abuse, with the aim to provide IFRC staff members, National Societies staff members and volunteers, as well as communities with necessary information and knowledge about substance abuse and prevention. The course is accessible from the IFRC e-learning platform and is available in the following languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Arabic.

online course

Training Concept Note

List of training courses conducted
  • 1st Training, July 2004
    6 Red Cross delegates: Belarus, Lithuania (2) , Ukraine, IFRC Almaty, IFRC Geneva
  • 2nd Training, February 2005
    5 Red Cross delegates: Armenia, Croatia, Estonia, Macedonia, IFRC Budapest
  • 3rd Training, April 2005
    6 Red Cross delegates: Armenia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Moldova, Russia, IFRC Geneva
  • 4th Training, October 2005
    5 Red Crescent delegates: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, IFRC Geneva
  • 5th Training, June 2006
    4 Red Cross delegates: Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, IFRC Budapest
  • 6th Training, October 2006
    7 Red Cross delegates: Armenia, Georgia, Russia (4), IFRC Ankara
  • 7th Training, December 2006
    2 Red Crescent delegates: Siria, Afghanistan + Senlis Council
  • 8th Training, January 2007
    8 Red Cross delegates: China (7), IFRC South Asia
  • 9th Training, August 2007
    13 Red Cross/Red Crescent delegates: Georgia (11), Azerbaijan (2)
  • 10th Training, October 2007
    8 Red Cross delegates: Uruguay (6), Argentina (2)
  • 11th Training, April 2008
    8 Red Cross delegates: Ukraine (7), France
  • 12th Training, October 2008
    10 Red Cross/Red Crescent delegates: Uganda, Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania
  • 13th Training, December 2009
    10 Red Cross delegates: Cambodia, Thailand, IFRC South-East Asia
  • 14th Training, March 2010
    10 Red Cross/Red Crescent delegates: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, IFRC Moscow
  • 15th Training, June 2010
    11 Red Cross/Red Crescent delegates: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine
  • 16th Training, July 2010
    10 public officials from the Ministry of Health of Georgia
  • 17th Training, November 2010
    10 public officials from the Ministry of Health of Georgia
  • 18th Training, May 2011
    8 Red Cross/Red Crescent delegates: Georgia (7), Tajikistan (1)
  • 19th Training, June 2011
    7 representatives of the Association ARGO from Thessalonica, Greece
  • 20th Training, October 2011
    10 Red Cross delegates: Cambogia (1), Laos (1), China (1), Thailand (3), Kenya (1), IFRC East Africa, South Asia, Asia Pacific
  • 21st Training - October 2011
    9 representatives of the Association ARGO from Thessalonica, Greece
  • 22nd Training - November 2011 in Minsk (Belarus)
    50 delegates of Belarusian Red Cross
  • 23rd Training – November 2011
    12 Red Cross/Red Crescent delegates: Armenia (2), Belarus (2), Lithuania (2), Kazakhstan (3), Turkmenistan (1),Ukraine (2)
  • 24th Training - December 2012 in Riga (Latvia)
    12 Red Cross delegates: Latvia (8), Lithuania (4)
  • 25th Training - January 2013 in Vientiane (Laos)
    14 Red Cross delegates: Cambodia (2) Indonesia (1), Japan (1), Laos (3), Thailand (1), Timor East (1), Vietnam (3), IFRC Kuala Lumpur (1), Jakarta (1)
  • 26th Training - March 2013
    6 representatives of the Association Aquarius from United Kingdom
  • 27th Training - June 2013
    10 Red Cross delegates: Belarus (1), Lithuania (4), Russia (5)
  • 28th Training – December 2013
    11 Red Cross delegates: Croatia (2), Bosnia (2), Macedonia (2), Serbia (2), Portugal (3) + 1 representative of Global Fund from Kenya
  • 29th Training – May 2014 in Montevideo (Uruguay)
    50 delegates of the Uruguay Red Cross
  • 30th Training – November 2014
    6 Red Cross delegates: Nigeria (1), Ghana (1), Gambia (1), Kenya (2), Austria (1) + 6 delegates of IFRC Africa region
  • 31st Training – October 2016
    13 Red Cross/Red Crescent delegates: Myanmar (2), Seychelles (2), South Africa (5), Philippines (1), Tunisia (3)
  • 32nd Training – November 2016
    9 representatives of NGOs from: Lithuania, Romania, Poland, Latvia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Georgia
  • 33rd Training – March 2017
    4 delegates of the Tajikistan Red Crescent
  • 34th Training – May 2018
    8 Red Cross delegates: Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Guyana, Honduras, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago + 1 representative of IFRC America region
  • 35th Training – November 2018
    10 Red Crescent delegates: Egypt, Syria, Libya, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Tunisia (2), Bahrain (2)
  • 36th Training – December 2021
    2 Red Crescent delegates: Tajikistan + 8 Red Cross delegates: Georgia (1), Spain (2), Latvia (3), Slovakia (2) + 7 representatives of NGOs from: Serbia, Greece, Lebanon and Turkey