A graduation ceremony for two classes of the
Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) was held within the framework of the
fourth annual National Field Epidemiology Training Program Scientific
Conference in Da Nang last week.
FETP in
Vietnam is a two-year program led by the Ministry of Health's General
Department of Preventive Medicine aimed at building trained epidemiologists who
can rapidly respond to epidemics and other public health events, the U.S.
Embassy in Hanoi said in a press release.
The
program, supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.
CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), Training Programs in Epidemiology and
Public Health Interventions Network, and South Asia Field Epidemiology and Technology
Network.
There are
currently 22 field epidemiologists who have completed the program since FETP
was established in Vietnam in 2009.
FETP
fellows have contributed to public health in Vietnam through their involvement
in outbreak responses such as cholera, avian and pandemic influenza, and hand
foot and mouth disease.
During
the program, fellows conduct independent research studies which are then used
to inform timely and effective disease outbreak responses.
Research
topics include zoonotic diseases transmitted from animals to humans, food-borne
diseases, vaccine preventable diseases and immunization, HIV/AIDS and other
communicable diseases.
“FETP
fellows are at the frontline of any strong public health system,” said Dr.
Anthony Mounts, country director of the U.S. CDC in Vietnam. “When an outbreak
occurs, such as in the recent Zika virus cases in Vietnam, they are the
‘disease detectives’ that go into the field and investigate the outbreak.”
“Through
the program, they receive hands-on training and mentoring in the use of
scientific approaches to identify causes and trends of public health issues,”
Dr. Mounts said.
An
induction of the seventh class of FETP fellows and the launch of an alumni
network to strengthen information sharing and training of FETP alumni also took
place alongside the graduation ceremony.
Organized
by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health's General Department of Preventive
Medicine, the three-day scientific conference starting on April 22 gathered
over 100 public health leaders in Vietnam, including international participants
from the U.S. CDC, WHO, and FETP fellows from Australia, the Philippines, and
Indonesia.
It also
showcased over 35 public health research projects from national, regional, and
provincial public health institutes in Vietnam.
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