Pakistan among 36 countries training disease detectives
By Hina Kiyani

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan has been included in an exclusive list of 36 countries training their own highly qualified field epidemiologists through two years training and service programme.
The programme is designed for health professionals in entry- or mid-level positions and will train eight people every year in Pakistan, said official sources here on Friday. In 2003, Pakistan requested assistance in establishing a Field Epidemiology Training Programma (FELTP) and in April 2005, the USAID Mission in Pakistan agreed to fund a three year proposal to establish a FELTP.
The Worldwide FELTP programs are based upon Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) USA. The EIS was established in 1951 following the start of the Korean War as an early warning system against biological warfare and man-made epidemics.
The program now has expanded into a surveillance and response unit for all types of epidemics, including chronic disease and injuries. Since the program’s establishment, EIS officers have worked on more than 10,000 studies and investigations and each year, EIS officers assist with approximately 100 investigations requested by states in the US and other countries. They have been involved in global eradication of smallpox by going to the farthest reaches of the world.
Internationally, these field-based training programs have been developed in conjunction with Ministries of Health. The CDC’s Division of Epidemiology and Surveillance Capacity Development, in the Coordinating Office of Global Health, has provided direct support and expertise to over 30 countries in the development of field epidemiology training programs.
Over 90 per cent of these programs have sustained themselves after CDC no longer provided direct support and 95 per cent of program graduates have been retained within their own country public health systems. In the initial phase of FELTP launching, considering operational and resource issues, the FELTP will induct fellows from all four provinces initially from Punjab and NWFP.
A letter from Federal Deputy General Health has been dispatched to the provinces and all national programs to invite nominations of qualified candidates. Four candidates each from Baluchistan and Sindh, and 1 each from FATA, FANA and AJK have also been invited to attend the short course. All referred candidates will be included for a one month short course by CDC on priority communicable disease detection and response.
The course will also include a field survey and the final selection of FELTP candidates will be made by the FELTP Selection committee based solely upon performance of candidates in the short course. The FELTP places great emphasis on quality of graduates and therefore, the number of fellows shall be restricted to no more than 8 (3 for eachprovince: Punjab and NWFP, and 2 from National disease control programs). Deadline for the application to be received at FELTP, NIH is December, 15 and the department of Health, Punjab has already invited applications through prominent advertisements in all major newspapers, the official sources said.