Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program
Affiliation: University of Ghana School of Public Health
The Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (GFELTP) is implemented in partnership with the School of Public Health of the University of Ghana. It was established in 1995 as one of the Public Health Schools Without Walls (PHSWOW) - an initiative of the Rockefeller Foundation. The program started with a mere five trainees but has grown to train over 250 public health practitioners in Africa today.
The GFELTP is a founding member of AFENET. It is a two-year learning-by-service postgraduate training program leading to a Masters of Philosophy degree in Applied Epidemiology and Disease Control which is awarded by the University of Ghana School of Public Health.
The mission of the GFELTP is to train public health practitioners who will be leaders and change agents for health development in Ghana in particular, and the wider African context.
The GFELTP’s approach towards public health training combines classroom work and field practice. During the field attachment, each resident is assigned a field supervisor (usually the district director of medical services), two academic advisors and community leaders to identify key research topics on specific health concerns of the community where the field attachment is done. The linkage between the field and the classroom enables residents to gain numerous competencies in public health in Africa.
GFELTP’s partners are: Ghana Ministry of Health, University of Ghana-School of Public Health, USAID, and the United Nations Foundation.
Vision:
To improve the health of the people in Ghana and beyond
Mission:
To contribute to addressing Ghana’s public health needs and priorities through training and service provision in Applied Epidemiology and Public Health Laboratory Management