Since 2005, SAMHSA has supported PEPFAR in Southeast Asia through training and technical assistance related to substance abuse treatment. Through a PEPFAR/SAMHSA collaboration, the Addiction Technology Transfer model was extended to include international partners, first in Vietnam, then throughout the rest of Southeast Asia following Vietnam’s great success.
In April, 2016, SAMHSA and PEPFAR funded a cooperative agreement between two U.S. Universities (Universities of California, Los Angeles and San Diego) and a Thai University (Chiang Mai University) with the ultimate goal of building a sustainable academic partnership focused on reducing the individual and societal impacts of HIV and substance use throughout Southeast Asia. Consistent with the SAMHSA and ATTC Network mission, SEA-HATTC is dedicated to building and supporting a well-trained, recovery-oriented, ethnically diverse workforce for availability and culturally appropriate treatments in order to improve outcomes of substance use disorders treatment and reduce substance-related problems in Thailand and throughout the region.