07 Sep 2023

The establishment of the Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP) has been hailed as testament for Botswana’s commitment to strengthening its public health response capacities.

Speaking during graduation ceremony of the third cohort of Frontline FETP in Gaborone on Wednesday, Minister of Health, Dr Edwin Dikoloti said epidemiological knowledge and skills would not only help to improve public health intelligence and security in Botswana, but would also build public health operational research capacity as well as programme monitoring and evaluation.

This, he said would result in the ability to better prevent, protect, control and provide an effective public health response to the international spread of diseases and other public health events and conditions.

Dr Dikoloti said it was clear that the COVID-19 pandemic had highlighted the urgent need for resilient and effective public health systems.

“It has reminded us that a robust response to emergencies requires a comprehensive approach, one that encompasses various aspects of pandemic management,” he said, adding that FETP was one such programme.

“From surveillance and response to stakeholder engagement, from service access to supply chain management, from financing to governance, every element plays a crucial role in ensuring the wellbeing of our communities,” he said.

Dr Dikoloti said World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Health Regulations 2005 emphasised the establishment of core competencies for surveillance and response to ensure global health security.

He said inclusion of FETP in the monitoring and evaluation framework underscored its importance in achieving functional public health surveillance and response across all levels of health system.

Reflecting on the history of FETP in Botswana, Dr Dikoloti said the inception of the programme was in 2012 as a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Centre for Disease Control, Botswana/Atlanta, University of Botswana, and WHO. 

He said the initial cohorts of participants demonstrated their commitment, with many completing the training and contributing to the country’s health system.

Dr Dikoloti highlighted that the three-month in-service training programme targeted health surveillance officers, community health nurses, laboratory professionals as well as monitoring and evaluation officers.

He said the Frontline FETP course helped capacitate health professionals on national disease surveillance and response.

He said it included, was but not limited to the use of case definitions, detection and reporting of diseases, public health events and conditions, summarisation of data using simple tables and graphs, case investigation, outbreak investigation and response, surveillance monitoring and evaluation, data analysis and interpretation, data quality assessment, as well as communicating information for decision-making.

He congratulated the 19 graduates, saying they stood as beacons of hope and change in the realm of public health.

“As you step out into the world, you carry the responsibility of safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our communities,” he said, adding that their ability to investigate and respond to disease outbreaks and emergencies would be a lifeline for those in need.

For his part, the US  Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Howard Van Vranken hailed the establishment of FETP, saying it was one way Botswana made remarkable strides in building a competent public health workforce.

He commended the achievement of the graduates, saying their successes were evident in the ongoing response to the mumps and measles outbreaks in the country.

He reminded his audience of the importance of a strong and resilient public health system, reiterating that challenges posed by COVID-19 underscored the need for a well-trained workforce equipped to respond to emerging threats.

Mr Van Vranken said US government had long standing collaborations with Botswana in the areas of health systems strengthening, saying they had been supporting the ministry in its efforts to prevent and control the HIV/AIDS and TB epidemics, built laboratory capacity as well as contributed to global health security initiative in the country.

He assured Botswana of the US’ support on FETP programme and the broader public health efforts. ENDS