Strengthening Ethiopia’s Public Health Workforce: EFELTP at Jimma University Enhances Training Programs

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The Ethiopia Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (EFELTP), in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Jimma University, has been at the forefront of enhancing the country’s public health workforce since its inception in 2015. With a strong focus on competency-based, hands-on training, EFELTP prepares Master of Public Health (MPH) trainees and academic staff to effectively respond to public health threats and conduct vital research.
Accredited by the Global Accreditation Body (GAB), the EFELTP has successfully graduated over 75 professionals who are now integral to Ethiopia’s national health initiatives. These graduates play essential roles in public health emergency response, pandemic preparedness, and bolstering global health security.
From December 19 to 23, 2025, Jimma University hosted an intensive practical training session aimed at enhancing data management skills among residents, utilizing tools such as Stata and KoboToolbox. Following this, from December 26 to 28, academic staff participated in orientation, mentoring, and supervision sessions designed to further develop their teaching capabilities.
Ongoing capacity-building efforts are set to include a diverse range of topics essential for modern public health practice. Upcoming training will cover areas such as Disaster Epidemiology, Public Health Bioinformatics for pathogen tracking and outbreak response, toxicological outbreak investigation, R software applications, QGIS, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Waste Water-Based Epidemiology (WBE), spatial epidemiology, and One Health workshops. These initiatives are supported by the Pandemic Fund-EPPR Project and aim to equip both residents and academic staff with advanced analytical and multidisciplinary skills.
In addition to these training programs, EFELTP is working towards establishing a smart classroom to create a conducive learning environment for both residents and faculty members. This initiative reflects the program’s commitment to fostering an innovative educational atmosphere that enhances the teaching and learning experience.
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E-mail: ero@ju.edu.et