This spring, CADCA is honored to once again welcome two distinguished professionals through the prestigious Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, a Fulbright Exchange initiative that fosters learning and leadership development between the United States and countries around the world. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the program features a network of nearly 6,500 alumni, including heads of state, supreme court justices, mayors, governors, and leaders in varied organizations.
This year’s fellows, Mrs. Grace Aliyu of Nigeria and Mr. Sanjayduth Bhundhoo of Mauritius, will spend several weeks at CADCA learning about community-based substance use prevention and coalition development. Their time with us is part of a long-standing partnership, now in its 15th year, between CADCA and the Humphrey Fellowship. Over the years, our organization has proven to be an ideal placement site, offering fellows a hands-on experience and a close-up look at how prevention strategies are developed, implemented, and sustained at the community level—and how those strategies can be adapted across borders.
During their fellowship, Aliyu and Bhundhoo will engage directly with CADCA’s training teams and observe best practices. The experience is designed to inform fellows to adapt and integrate CADCA’s proven strategies into their own countries’ public health efforts. Bhundhoo states that his “long-term goal is to establish a prevention-focused NGO and a recovery center in Mauritius, providing holistic support to individuals and communities by addressing the root causes of substance misuse and fostering resilience through education, treatment, and sustainable practices.”
Aliyu adds, “I am particularly interested in how CADCA mobilizes communities and sustains long-term prevention efforts, which I plan to adapt to strengthen grassroots initiatives in Nigeria.” She recently had the honor of leading a panel discussion on “The Power of Creativity in Drug Misuse Prevention” at a side event hosted by the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs during the 68th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Austria.
The success of this partnership can already be seen in the field. One of CADCA’s partners in Uganda is a former Humphrey Fellow who now runs a prevention-focused NGO and works directly with our team. In Togo, another alum plays a role in supporting national substance use program development.
We are thrilled to continue this partnership and look forward to seeing the fellows apply what they’ve learned to strengthen prevention efforts in their home countries. Learn more about the fellows by reading their biographies below.
Mrs. Grace Aliyu, from Kwara State, Nigeria obtained her bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria. She currently is enrolled in a master’s program in International Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom. Mrs. Aliyu has 15 years of professional experience working in the Nigeria Health System. She began working at Kwara State Hospitals Management Board in 2018 as a clinical pharmacist. In 2022 she assumed duties as the procurement pharmacist of the Essential Drugs Project, the repository for all information on drugs and medical consumables. Mrs. Aliyu is the Executive Director of Crystalclear Living Stream Foundation, a non-governmental organization focused on drug abuse prevention with a mission to create a drug-free world using the twin forces of creativity and productivity. Mrs. Aliyu also is the pioneer coordinator of the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP) in Kwara state. Upon her return to Nigeria, Mrs. Aliyu plans to establish a vocational training center that serves vulnerable youth and families in Kwara State.
Mr. Sanjayduth Bhundhoo, from Mauritius, is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Technology, Mauritius. Mr. Bhundhoo holds a bachelor’s in social work (2013), a postgraduate diploma in NGO management (2021), and master’s degrees in public policy and administration (2020) and communication and public relations (2022). He presently is pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Technology, Mauritius. Mr. Bhundhoo has over 16 years of experience participating in numerous projects, research initiatives, and publications at both the local and international levels, focusing on social welfare sustainability, and substance misuse. Additionally, he led several community outreach programs focused on substance misuse education and prevention. In the future, he plans to establish a rehabilitation care center for addiction services and contribute to policy formation related to addiction. With support from the governmental and private sectors, he also plans to continue to develop and implement projects aimed at substance misuse and HIV/AIDS prevention.
