AFENET at the Sierra Leone FETP informatics curriculum validation meeting

Dr. Godfrey Kayita, Senior Epidemiologist at AFENET, represented the AFENET secretariat at the Sierra Leone Global Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) Informatics Curriculum Validation Meeting. The event that gathered stakeholders from key institutions, including CDC Atlanta, the University of Washington, the University of California San Francisco, Sierra Leone FETP, Kenya FETP, and Georgia FETP, aimed to pilot and validate a new informatics curriculum.

The meeting commenced with a courtesy visit to the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health Headquarters. The delegation, which included representatives from CDC Atlanta led by Dr. Tadesse Wahib, University of Washington’s curriculum designers led by Ms. Jan MacGregory, CDC Sierra Leone Country Office led by Ms. Chinyere Ekenchi, and Sierra Leone FETP led by Dr. Gebru, engaged with Deputy Minister Hon. Prof. Senessie Charles, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sartie Kenneh, and NPHA Executive Director Prof. Sahr Foday. This visit emphasized the importance of advocacy and visibility for the initiative.

The week-long training was officially launched in the spirit of One Health, with Deputy Minister of Agriculture Hon. Sahr Hemore officiating the opening alongside FAO official Ms. Noelina Nantima. Deputy Executive Director of NPHA, Dr. Vandhi, also attended. Dr. Kayita delivered the opening remarks on behalf of AFENET, highlighting the critical role informatics plays in disease surveillance and health system strengthening.

Dr. Kayita engaged in discussions with the CDC Atlanta team, led by Dr. Wahib, who outlined the design and demand for the FETP Informatics Curriculum. The curriculum offers two models:

• A one-day training followed by a week of fieldwork.
• A one-week training complemented by three weeks of fieldwork.

Both models are integrated into FETP Intermediate workshops, ensuring trainees gain practical, field-oriented expertise.

AFENET is poised to play a pivotal role in scaling the curriculum. Plans are underway to incorporate pre-conference training during the Ethiopia FETP Conference in February 2025, supported by Ethiopia CDC. Dr. Kayita advocated for the introduction of Training of Trainers (ToT) for Resident Advisors (RAs), with proposals to integrate this training into either the EIS Conference or the AFENET Scientific Conference.

This collaborative effort shows the growing importance of informatics in global health. By equipping epidemiologists with cutting-edge informatics skills, the initiative will strengthen disease surveillance, outbreak detection, and response capabilities worldwide. AFENET’s involvement affirms its commitment to fostering global health security through capacity building and innovative training approaches.