Mozambique FELTP Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary

General coordination and IT team for the Mozambique FELTP 1st Scientific Meeting held in August 2021. Photo courtesy of the Mozambique FELTP.

The Mozambique Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP), housed within the National Institute of Health of Mozambique, recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. In honor of this milestone, the FELTP hosted its 1st Scientific Meeting virtually from August 10 to 12, 2021. This event showcased presentations by Mozambique FELTP participants on work related to FETP competency areas, such as health surveillance system analysis, advanced data analysis, and public health emergency response. In addition, FETPs in Angola, Brazil, and Guinea-Bissau had the opportunity to share their work during a special session for the Portuguese-speaking FETP network. 

The 1st Scientific Meeting culminated in a graduation ceremony for the fifth advanced-level cohort of the Mozambique FELTP. TEPHINET and the Mozambique FELTP family congratulate the new graduates and wish them much success in their efforts to strengthen field epidemiology throughout the country and region.

Members of Mozambique FELTP’s new advanced-level cohort, which began its training in August 2021. Photo courtesy of the Mozambique FELTP.
Graduation of Mozambique FELTP’s fifth advanced-level cohort (August 2021). Photo courtesy of the Mozambique FELTP.

As we congratulate the FELTP’s recent graduates, we also welcome its newest residents. The current advanced-level cohort, comprising 10 residents (including, for the first time, two from Guinea-Bissau), began training on August 16. Three residents and three graduates supported the selection process for the new cohort, which commenced in May 2021 with a public call for applications. Fifty-nine applicants were selected for telephone interviews; of those, 16 were selected to participate in 40 hours of training and group field activities in mid-June. 

Participants learned the basics of epidemiology and outbreak investigation and took part in activities including developing and administering a survey protocol, analyzing the survey data, writing a report, and giving a final presentation. At the conclusion of these activities, the program selected the 10 members of its new cohort from among the 16 participants.

Prospective Mozambique FELTP participants collected and analyzed epidemiologic data as part of their field activities in June 2021. Photo courtesy of the Mozambique FELTP.