Following a successful Universal Prevention Curriculum (UPC81) Engaging Youth in Prevention training held on the 12th to the 16th of January, 2026, at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) hosted a certificate award ceremony for the participants.
The five-day training, organized by DEA and facilitated by certified trainers of trainers Mr. Wazha Dambe and Ms. Kutlwano Morris, brought together a group of 30 participants and marking the first local cohort trained in the UPC-81 curriculum.
Giving a keynote address, the Deputy Director General, Col. Montshwari Motlogelwa, emphasised that the training significantly strengthens DEA’s prevention pillar by enhancing staff capacity in prevention. Representing the trainees, Mr. Tumelo Sengawne shared that their work centers heavily on young people, and the training has equipped them with practical, evidence-based methods to connect with and involve youth more effectively.
Mr. Dambe lamented that a strong focus was placed on the importance of meaningfully involving young people in every stage of substance use prevention programs from planning and delivery to evaluation. He noted that there is a clear need for dedicated professional development in this area, including specialized training and technical support to help practitioners incorporate youth perspectives effectively.
Incorporating youth insights and leadership strengthens the relevance, quality, and real-world impact of prevention efforts, speeds up the rollout of effective interventions, and provides direct benefits to young people themselves. However, successful youth engagement requires a nuanced, multi-layered approach. Prevention professionals must build essential competencies in adolescent development, the principles of equitable youth-adult partnerships, applying these concepts to program design and implementation, and using relational methods that share power and decision-making with youth.
This training represents an important advancement in developing Botswana's local capacity for evidence-based, youth-inclusive prevention strategies that can better address substance use challenges in communities.
#BAAP #DrugDemandReduction #preventioninfluencers #DrugEnforcementAgency #MokolodiNatureReserve #YouthPrevention #DAP #ISSUP
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