Background
The Gambian Field Epidemiology Training Program (GamFETP-F) began in 2015/2016 as a collaboration between the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) and the Gambian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW). Though the U.S. CDC only has initial funding for training of frontline surveillance officers for two years, the training is supposed to continue to train surveillance officers at the three levels of FETP training. With this in view, U.S. CDC has worked closely with MOHSW, as a primary partner, and the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) to establish a sustainable FETP-Frontline in The Gambia. The program is situated within the MOHSW as assistance is provided by the U.S. CDC Atlanta office with the active participation of its implementing and technical partner AFENET providing in-country implementation of the training. Therefore, CDC and AFENET have leveraged their technical expertise and collaboration with the MOHSW, through FETP-Frontline, to start strengthening and building workforce capacity for field epidemiology in The Gambia as stipulated in the HSEPRP (December 2016) of the MOHSW of The Gambia. The first cohort of 25 trainees were enrolled on August 1, 2016, after a stakeholders’ meeting in April 2016. Frontline training has continued since then. After U.S. CDC’s funding expired in September 2017, AFENET along with the MOHSW continued with the training with funds sourced from the World Health Organization, the West African Health Organization, and Africa CDC.