Graduates of the seventh batch of trainees of the Cameroon Field Epidemiology Training Program, CAFETP, have been called upon to help boost epidemiological surveillance and quality of response to public health issues.
The call was made by the Minister of Public Health Dr Malachie Manaouda while presiding over the graduation ceremony which equally served as the launch of the training of students for the intermediate level of the said program.
With the launch of the mid-level training, CAFETP becomes a comprehensive field epidemiology training program based on the model of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a major partner of this project.
Set up in Cameroon since 2011, this program aims to strengthen the capacities of human and animal health personnel in epidemiological surveillance and response to epidemics and other public health issues.
Until now, CAFETP only offered two levels of training: the frontline or basic level, the duration of which is set at three months and the advanced level with a two-year apprenticeship including 18 months on the field.
These two levels of training are crowned respectively by a Certificate issued by the Ministry of Public Health and CDC Cameroon and by a Master of Science from the University of Buea and a CDC Atlanta Certificate.
Set up in the presence of all the stakeholders, the intermediate level of this project, the training of which lasts 12 months, will make it possible to have middle managers, trained at the grassroots level and likely to support the regional delegations of public health and major health programs.
As a Sub-Regional Program, CAFETP also brings together participants from Chad and the Central African Republic.
Since the launch of this program, 100 epidemics have been investigated, 959 health professionals trained; 853 for the frontline and 106 for the advanced level, including the 11 laureates of the day.
Thus, recognising their skills in the areas of collecting, analyzing and interpreting data on diseases that aid rapid decision-making and effective intervention in the field, the Minister of Public Health Dr Malachie Manaouda urged the graduates to put their skills at the service of continued epidemiological surveillance in Cameroon and other partner countries.
JDC TV, Video news 
