Program overview
In June 2013, the Ministry of Health (MoH) requested for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to assist in establishing the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) – Frontline in Malawi. A team from CDC conducted a pre-assessment for the proposed Malawi FETP in October 2013 and did an assessment visit in February 2014. This led to recommendations made for the implementation of FETP under a three-tiered program (basic, intermediate, and advanced). A three-day workshop was held in November 2015, and it was agreed that FETP-Frontline implementation in Malawi would be initiated in April 2016. FETP-Frontline was implemented with the intention that it will be an ongoing training program within the Public Health Institute of Malawi (PHIM) with the goal of training public health staff in surveillance.