NPHA Steps Up Disease Surveillance Efforts with Training of Frontline Health Workers
Theresa Manneh The National Public Health Agency (NPHA) has strengthened efforts to improve disease surveillance and early outbreak detection through a six-week Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP) Light Course for frontline health workers in Bonthe and Western Rural Districts.
The training brought together medical practitioners, traditional leaders and other stakeholders, equipping frontline health workers with practical skills to detect, investigate and respond to disease outbreaks at the community level.
Deputy Executive Director of the NPHA, Dr Mohamed Alex Vandi, commended the United States Government for its continued support, disclosing that approximately 95 per cent of the Agency’s activities were funded by the US Government. He noted that FETP training had contributed significantly to Sierra Leone’s response to Ebola, COVID-19 and other public health emergencies
Resident Advisor of the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Dr Gebru, revealed that the organisation had supported the training of approximately 600 public health professionals in Sierra Leone since the Ebola outbreak, describing the country’s FETP initiative as one of the successful programmes of its kind in Africa.
Meanwhile, Programme Manager for Workforce FETP, Amara Alhaji Sheriff, disclosed that Sierra Leone began training epidemiology personnel in 2016 and has since graduated 17 cohorts. Acting US CDC Country Director, Dr Kathy Middleton, urged graduates to apply their skills in disease detection, data analysis, timely reporting and outbreak response.
The training marks another step in the NPHA’s efforts to strengthen community-based disease surveillance, develop local epidemiological expertise and improve the country’s preparedness for public health emergencies.