Afghanistan Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP)
In response to a request from the Ministry of Public Health, the Afghanistan FETP, housed within the Afghanistan National Public Health Institute, developed a Science, Epidemiology and Research (SER) Committee to fight COVID-19. The SER’s key responsibility is providing technical support to the Ministry on issues relevant to COVID-19. To date, in addition to making decisions on key health issues, including COVID-19 case management and the production of diagnostic kits, the SER has developed and submitted more than one dozen policy briefs on issues ranging from when and how to lift the COVID-19 lockdown to reducing the impact of COVID-19 on tuberculosis. Across Afghanistan, FETP trainees and alumni are involved in COVID-19 surveillance, data management, risk communication, specimen collection, infection prevention and control training, and more.