Emergency Capacity Building Grants help FETPs respond to COVID-19
By:
Amber Lauff, Communications Manager

Since January 30, 2020, when the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), COVID-19 has changed and defined the work of Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETPs) around the world. As the global pandemic rapidly evolved in the early months of 2020, TEPHINET developed and offered a new opportunity for FETPs called Emergency Capacity Building Grants (ECBGs), designed to help our member FETPs respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This project aligned with TEPHINET’s mission to develop, connect, and mobilize a global field epidemiology workforce to strengthen public health systems and advance global health security.

TEPHINET’s Accreditation and Mobilization teams, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), offered these grants with the goal of strengthening FETPs for COVID-19 response, and building capacity for future pandemics.

In the early months of the pandemic, when regular program activities were not possible, the TEPHINET team quickly pivoted to create this grant program supporting critical activities aligned with at least one of the ten pillars outlined in the COVID-19 Operational Planning Guidelines to Support County Preparedness and Response released by the World Health Organization (WHO). Many programs had already joined pandemic preparedness and response efforts by conducting health screenings, supporting quarantine activities, conducting surveillance and data analysis, and more.

Of the 21 FETPs who applied for assistance, 19 were awarded funding, totaling more than $380,000. Activities ranged from developing an online course that enabled health officials to train and increase their workforce capacity, to strengthening COVID-19 response capacities for surveillance, analysis, and contact tracing. Project goals and outcomes are further detailed in the final report, available for download below. 

The following photos were shared by FETP members to showcase their ECBG-related activities.

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A Colombia FETP trainee administers a COVID-19 test to a community member as part of surveillance and response efforts.

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A Colombia FETP trainee administers a COVID-19 test to a community member as part of surveillance and response efforts.

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Frontline FETP alumni team members in Ghana and their mentors work through a fishbone problem analysis in the Nadowli District Health Management team's conference room.

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Liberia FETP trainees interview the Bokumu District Surveillance Officer as part of their evaluation of the country's COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP).

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Liberia FETP trainees observe screening protocols in Poe, Maryland County as part of their evaluation of the country's COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP).

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FETP trainees in Liberia obtain consent for focus group discussions conducted as part of their evaluation of the country's COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP).

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FETP trainees in Liberia discuss their plan for data collection in Central Monrovia District.

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A Somalia FETP fellow shares awareness and prevention methods for COVID-19 with community members.

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A Somalia FETP fellow provides education on the prevention and control of COVID-19 to residents of Mogadishu Internally Displace People (IDP) camps.

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Community health workers in Somalia are trained on the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

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Tanzania FELTP graduates, together with experts from the University of Dar es Salaam, National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), and WHO facilitated utilization of available data at Public Health Emergency Operations Center to predict the COVID-19 trend in Tanzania.

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FELTP alumni in Tanzania established a COVID-19 alert desk at the subnational level for reporting, verification and follow-up of cases.

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A Zimbabwe FETP resident practices screening for COVID-19 as part of surveillance training.

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A Zimbabwe FETP resident performs a temperature check as part of COVID-19 surveillance efforts.

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A Zimbabwe FETP fellow administers a nasopharyngeal swab to test for COVID-19.

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Related

Announcing the Recipients of the TEPHINET COVID-19 Emergency Capacity Building Grants for Field Epidemiology Training Programs