Burkina Faso’s Field Epidemiology Training Program – Frontline Cohort 16 Graduates with Impact

Updated on April 25, 2025
by AFENET

The 16th cohort of Burkina Faso’s Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP-Frontline) has concluded its three-month intensive training with strong achievements and a graduation ceremony held on April 18, 2025, in Ouagadougou.

Highlights of their impact:

45 case and outbreak investigations completed
75 data quality audits conducted across health facilities, livestock support zones, and forestry posts
50 weekly surveillance data summaries produced
20 in-depth analyses addressing surveillance data quality issues
30 community awareness sessions held, reaching 180 health agents and 310 community members

This cohort of 25 residents, selected from eight districts across nine regions, began their field-based training on January 1, 2025. Their graduation marks another step forward in strengthening Burkina Faso’s public health surveillance and response capabilities.

During the training, each resident conducted an analysis of a pressing health issue using a fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram approach—uncovering root causes and identifying solutions to improve disease detection and response in their local settings.

Cohort 16’s accomplishments reinforce the value of field epidemiology training in building a resilient and responsive health system across the region.

N°	Fish head (Central Problem)	Critical Cause	Name of Resident
1	Insufficient completion of surveillance data collection tools in health facilities in the Sapouy district	Insufficient training supervision of health workers on epidemiological surveillance	TRAORE Aridiata
2	Insufficient filling of tools at the CMA of Léo	Insufficient internal supervision	OUEDRAOGO Seydou
3	Underreporting of epidemic-prone diseases in health facilities in the Sapouy Health District	Lack of specific oversight of integrated disease surveillance and response	SANOGO Cheik
4	Low involvement of health workers in the collection of surveillance data in the Sig-Noghin health district	Lack of skills of health workers in collecting surveillance data	SOME Géraldine
5	Low submission of samples to the national livestock laboratory by animal health workers in Burkina Faso	Lack of awareness of the importance of laboratory confirmation	SORGHO Bénédicte
6	Low data reporting by the UATE of the municipality of Ziniaré	Lack of awareness of the new list of compulsory illnesses	OUEDRAOGO Alfred
7	Lack of communication of epidemiological data by the UATE of the commune of Kongoussi	No archiving of data	ZANGRE Zakaria
8	Insufficient data in the UATE of the commune of Ouahigouya	Lack of data archiving	OUEDRAOGO Noufou
9	Under notification of diseases requiring mandatory notification to the Ouahigouya University Hospital	Lack of knowledge of notifiable diseases	NIKIEMA Joséphine
10	Under notification of Severe Acute Respiratory Infections	Insufficient specific formative supervision	OUEDRAOGO Halidou
11	Dengue arbovirosis reported to the medical emergency department of the Ouahigouya University Hospital	Lack of knowledge among health workers about the diseases under surveillance	TAPSOBA Franck Williams
12	Under-reporting of unusual events at the provincial environmental department level	Inadequacy of the collection method	BAKO Adama
13	Insufficient data collection on environmental events	Low awareness among forestry officers regarding the reporting of environmental events	ZANGO Rasmané
14	Under-reporting of diseases and events under surveillance at the CMA of Do	Insufficient active research	BELEM Rasmane
15	Insufficient filling of registers in health facilities in the Do district	Lack of training on the importance of data collection	OUATTARA Mohamed
16	Insufficient analysis of surveillance data in health facilities	Lack of mastery of methods and techniques for processing and analyzing data	TRAORE ibn Issaka Outouphe
17	The low reporting of diseases with epidemic potential and health events in the health facilities of the Sindou Health District	Lack of competence of health workers in epidemiological surveillance	OUATTARA Lamine
18	Inadequate collection of surveillance data on diseases and potential epidemic events in Léo CMA units	Insufficient formative supervision by the ECD and CMA managers	BABOUAN Kassoum
19	Discrepancy between data from the mortuary and those from the units of CHU B	Failure to comply with body management guidelines	GANOU Anne
20	Inadequate analysis and interpretation of data in the Léo health district	Lack of training supervision from the management team towards health facility agents on the analysis and interpretation of data	ABDOU Aboubacary
21	Inadequate analysis and interpretation of epidemiological data in peripheral veterinary structures in the central region	Insufficient supervision over the collection and interpretation of surveillance data	OUEDRAOGO Inès Marie Reine
22	Under notification of diseases and events under surveillance at Halassane Coulibaly Hospital	Lack of internal supervision of agents	NIKIEMA Séraphin
23	Underreporting of diseases with epidemic potential	Lack of periodic and regular monitoring of notification data	KABORE Ibrahim Arsène
24	Insufficient active search for cases of tuberculosis in the Pouytenga DS	Lack of specific internal supervision on Tuberculosis	DAMOLGA Daniel
25	Faible capitalisation des données	Outil de capitalisation non adapté.	KABRE Massi