Participants in the 3-month field epidemiology training programme, July 2024 in Aden. Photo credit: WHO Yeme

21 August 2024, Aden, Yemen – Yemen has faced recent outbreaks of type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2) , cholera, diphtheria, measles, dengue and malaria among other diseases.

WHO and the Pandemic Fund are working with Yemen’s health authorities to build the capacity of epidemiologists to investigate disease outbreaks. With funding from the Pandemic Preparedness and Response Project (PPRP), WHO and the Ministry of Public Health and Population, a 3-month field epidemiology training programme (FETP) was launched in July 2024.

Dr Arturo Pesigan, WHO Representative in Yemen, explained: “Detecting and investigating outbreaks is a cornerstone of public health and key to pandemic prevention and preparedness. Globally, FETPs are recognized as one of the most effective ways of increasing the number and quality of field epidemiologists in the public health workforce.”

The course will train 21 participants, including 6 female health workers, from 8 governorates (Abyan, Aden, Al Dhale’e, Al Hudaydah, Hadramaut, Lahj, Marib and Taizz). Six of the trainees have worked in surveillance and other national disease control programmes. Others are field surveillance workers responsible for collecting, analysing and interpreting data and responding to outbreaks.

The course is being delivered in partnership with the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET) and comprises 3 workshops and 2 field assignments which will provide trainees with opportunities to apply the skills they have learned to enhance surveillance data quality and timeliness.

Future training sessions are planned. The project aims to train 75 epidemiologists in total, specialized workers who will serve on the frontline, detecting, investigating and responding to public health emergencies and strengthening Yemen’s capacities in line with the International Health Regulations.

Participants in the 3-month field epidemiology training programme, July 2024 in Aden. Photo credit: WHO Yemen