The Deputy Health Minister, Dr Phouthong Muangpak joined WHO Representative to Lao PDR, Dr Juliet Fleischl and US Ambassador to Lao PDR Ms Rena Bitter to congratulate the eighth cohort of field epidemiology trainees at their graduation ceremony held yesterday at the Don Chan Palace Hotel.
Dr Phouthong said “The Lao Field Epidemiology Training Programme is an important training that has successfully addressed the human resources capacity issue of trained field epidemiologists. I was informed that the FET alumni and students have received a Special Award at last year’s Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET), which is a regional event and that endorsed the quality of their work.”
This program has become the cornerstone of disease outbreak response investigation and surveillance activities in the country; thank to the leadership of the Ministry of Health, the Department of Communicable Diseases Control (DCDC) and the National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology (NCLE). The FET program met its objectives to equip trainees with practical skills; and the applied nature of the training ensures that trainees know how to respond to surveillance and outbreak investigations.
Dr Juliet said “WHO with the new Country Cooperation Strategy for 2017-2021 will continue to provide support to strengthen the surveillance capacity at national and subnational levels for better prevention, detection, risk assessment and response through upgrading the scale and scope of the health systems. WHO will also continue to support surveillance and outbreak detection through improved diagnostic services and networking, including the continuation of the Lao Field Epidemiology Training Programme.”
The FET program is well recognized and appreciated by the Ministry of Health and partners. Graduates from this program work in their provinces to support disease surveillance and prevention and their work have contributed to many important health policies implemented in the country since 2009. Ms Rena said “The US Government is proud to support the FET program; together we can use the knowledge gained in this program to combat emerging and re-emerging disease threats. The work you do will make a very real contribution to public health in Lao PDR.”
Investing in health security will make the world safer, and investing in human resource capacity development will equip health workers with the right skills to support field epidemiology. Many of the graduates have expressed confidence that their training have provided them with practical skills to deal with outbreak investigation and risk assessment.
The eight new graduates will join 55 FET alumni members, their multi-sectoral backgrounds have helped in their field surveillance and outbreak investigation work as they covered a range of outbreaks from avian influenza to diphtheria. These 63 members are now assigned to all provinces in the country, and many of the FET graduates were promoted and have taken up key roles in their province, which affirm the important role they play for disease and outbreak surveillance in Lao PDR.