October 2, 2025 (Sao Tome and Príncipe, Central Africa): The IGAD Secretariat partnering with the Africa Epidemiology Network (AFENET) conducted a stakeholder’s workshop with the Government of Sao Tome and Principe on strengthening the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP) in the Country.
The workshop held under the Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience Program (#HEPRRP) took place from 29th September to 2nd October 2025, in Sao Tome, and sought to evaluate implementation of the frontline FETLP in Sao Tome & Principe (STP), explore the feasibility of rolling out an Intermediate-level, identify technical assistance needs, and develop actionable recommendations to strengthen field epidemiology capacity in the country.
IGAD and East, Central, and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC) are implementing the regional component of the World Bank funded Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience (HEPRR) Program with the objective to strengthen health system resilience and multisectoral preparedness and response to health emergencies in Eastern and Southern Africa. IGAD is leading the workforce strengthening component.
Sao Tome & Principe, one of the eight participating countries under the programme’s Multi phase Programmatic Approach (MPA) extended a request to IGAD for the establishment of Intermediate Field Epidemiollogy Training Program in the country to help backstop the limited workforce to prepare and respond to disease outbreaks.
Participants comprised of public health professionals responsible for human resources and surveillance, medical laboratory scientists from the Ministry of Health (MoH), animal and environmental health experts with FELTP experience from the Ministries of Livestock and Environment, as well as subject matter specialists from the World Health Organization, IGAD, and AFENET.
AFENET provided technical inputs on training and deployment of FELTP workforce at national level Public Health Emergency Operation Centre (PHEOC) including case management, surveillance, risk communication and community engagement among others.
The Minister of Health, Sao Tome and Principe, Hon. Dr. Celso Matos, in his remarks at the opening of the stakeholder engagement session, called upon relevant health sector service providers and agencies to strengthen partnerships and collaboration to effectively combat the emerging threats to public health.
Dr. Celso welcomed the intervention to strengthen both numbers and skills of frontline health workers within the One Health approach.
“Previous pandemics and outbreaks on the continent have exposed gaps in the health systems and the need to improve capacities, especially the critical human resources necessary to prepare and respond to health emergencies.”
Dr. Mohammed Elduma, Head of the Health Unit at the IGAD Secretariat, underscored that reinforcing the frontline health workforce is fundamental to building a resilient, responsive, and well-prepared health system.
“Through collaborative efforts like this, we aim to empower countries such as São Tomé and Príncipe with the tools, training, and systems needed to build a capable and sustainable field epidemiology workforce,” Dr. Elduma remarked.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative for Sao Tome, Dr. Diarra Abdoulaye called upon the multi-agency front line teams and stakeholders attending the engagement to translate the recommendations into action.
Through the HEPRRP, IGAD and ECSA-HC are collaborating with a number of stakeholders to support frontline and intermediate Field Epidemiology Training Programs (I-FETP) training programs in the participating countries. In 2024, IGAD led the process of reviewing the I-FETP training curriculum that resulted in the incorporation of modules on preparedness and response to health emergencies, One Health initiative and gender equity and inclusivity.
As part of the STP assessment, participants visited the National Reference Laboratory, the Surveillance and the Livestock Laboratories. The assessment identified strength and gaps of the ongoing interventions including existing coordination and funding opportunities.
In the next steps, stakeholders recommended to strengthen governance and oversight by establishing an FETP Steering and Technical Committee through the MoH with partners, institutionalize FETP within MoH structures, develop a phased implementation plan for Intermediate Field Epidemiology and strengthen monitoring and evaluation, among others.
