First ever course of FELTP (Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme) “Frontline” in Pakistan was held at Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute (AFPGMI), Rawalpindi. The course was jointly organized by AMC, M/O NHSRC, FELTP and NIH. FELTP Frontline Training (FELTP-Frontline) is a 3-month in-service program focused on detecting and responding to diseases and events of public health importance of national and international concern. The target audience of the frontline program is public health workers on the front lines of surveillance data collection, monitoring, analysis, and response. The training is designed for public health workers from all levels actively involved with surveillance work who either do not have the time to participate in the two-year program or do not have the capacity to conduct surveillance related duties
Participants learn and practice the fundamental skills used in frontline surveillance including use of case definitions, disease detection and reporting, summarizing of data using simple tables and graphs, case investigation, outbreak investigation and response, surveillance monitoring and evaluation, data analysis and interpretation for decision making. 35 Participants who successfully complete the program were also awarded with certificate of completion of course.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Assad Hafeez, Director General, NHSRC in his remarks appraised the importance of this event in the light of recent effort for the implementation of IHR 2005 and Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). Maj General Ammar Raza Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Military) Commandant AFPGMI called it a major step toward strengthening Disease surveillance capacity in Armed Forces. Brig NailaAzam, Advisor in Community Medicine called it a pioneering work for Army Medical Corps as well as for Pakistan. Dr. Rana Jawad Asghar, Resident Adviser of FELTP thanked Ministry of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC) and Armed Forces to work collaboratively to strengthen health sector comprehensively to improve the quality of Health Intelligence. He informed that today disease surveillance is collected treated and treated as health intelligence. We could only win war against bacterias and viruses only if we deploy our best people on health intelligence gathering.
Spearheading this course embodies the unwavering commitment of Ministry, FELTP, NIH and AMC toward the supreme cause of health development in Pakistan. To have substantial and sustainable impact, it is crucial that such programmes be held on regular basis to build a sufficient reserve of skilled manpower for timely detection and response to the communicable disease outbreaks.Similar course have been planned for capacity building of provincial health departments as well.
With the introduction of frontline FELTP, Pakistan capacities among the workforce development indicator of the Joint External Evaluation of IHR and GHSA has improved from developed capacity to demonstrate capacity as Pakistan is now among those countries with 2 levels of FELTP.
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