A two-year course to train Pakistan's future field epidemiologist as part of the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (FELTP) funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was inaugurated.
USAID Mission Director in Pakistan, Anne Aarnes on the inaugural ceremony said, "trained and committed workers are the foundation in which all systems and institutions are built."
Aarnes stated that this initiative was part of a much larger set of health initiatives that USAID was supporting in Pakistan. She said USAID's support for Pakistan's health sector during the last year exceeded 45 million dollars and included a range of programmes related to maternal and new-born healthcare, family planning, clean water and infectious disease prevention and control, she added.
The course, adopted from the US-based Epidemic Intelligence Service program and taught by both foreign and Pakistani experts, would cover areas of epidemiology, statistics, surveillance, outbreak detection and response.
Aarnes expressed the hope that this cohort of epidemiologist would bring about a very positive change in the results produced by health departments. "They will be more efficient in detecting and responding to communicable diseases outbreaks," she added.
Support for FELTP is part of the 1.5 billion dollars in aid that the US government is providing to Pakistan over a five-year period to improve economic growth, education, health, governance and earthquake reconstruction.
Director General Health Major General Shahida Malik (Retd) said the launching of FELTP last year was timely step towards right direction and would greatly help the healthcare delivery system in proper planning thereby yielding best return for the government's investment in health sector.
She said the development of network of field epidemiologist with continued technical support from CDC expert pool would definitely go a long way towards strengthening the existing surveillance and laboratory systems and help in reduction of disease morbidity and mortality. She assured every sort of assistance and cooperation required for the success of this programme.
National Institute of Health Executive Director Major General Masood Anwar (Retd) said FELTP had been working in many countries and Pakistan was very fortunate to have an opportunity to strengthen their health system through such programmes. FELTP Pakistan Resident Advisor Dr Rana Jawad Asghar on the occasion highlighted the salient features of the project and role of the partners' institutions.