key: cord-0787730-gdw1dkyx authors: O'Carroll, Patrick W.; Kirk, Martyn D.; Reddy, Carl; Morgan, Oliver W.; Baggett, Henry C. title: The Global Field Epidemiology Roadmap: Enhancing Global Health Security by Accelerating the Development of Field Epidemiology Capacity Worldwide date: 2021-06-01 journal: Health Secur DOI: 10.1089/hs.2021.0018 sha: a2abe7d38770b95586832acf4bbe4b144a293082 doc_id: 787730 cord_uid: gdw1dkyx nan programs now receive substantial technical and financial support from the European Union as well as individual country governments. In the face of increasing threats to global health security, field epidemiology capacity development must be accelerated and better integrated with related World Health Organization (WHO) programs and priorities. New communications tools, information technologies, and data science capacities offer rich opportunities that should be seized to enhance current approaches to disease detection, investigation, and control. To accomplish these and other goals, a broader partnership-driven approach is needed to lead global FETP efforts. To begin to address these challenges and opportunities, senior leaders in field epidemiology and partners from across the globe met at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy, in June 2018 and again at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in February 2019. These meetings had 2 goals: to develop an action plan to enhance and accelerate the development of global field epidemiology capacity and to better integrate field epidemiology capacity development efforts with related global health initiatives of WHO and allied organizations. Reports of the 2 meetings, including lists of participants and detailed action steps, are available online. 7, 8 Recognizing the breadth and global reach of FETP, the group coined the term ''FETP Enterprise'' to represent the totality of the leaders, funders, implementing partners, government agencies, and other stakeholders engaged in this effort, along with associated workforce competency targets, standards, agreements, technologies, etc. that undergird this work. They established a clear vision for the FETP Enterprise: ''To ensure that every country has the applied epidemiology capacities needed to protect and promote the health of its own population and to collaborate with others to promote global health.'' 7 The essential functions of the FETP Enterprise were identified as providing FETP fellows with real-world experience in applied epidemiology, mobilizing fellows for response to epidemics and other health emergencies, providing quality assurance, and institutionalizing FETPs into country public health systems. As part of the plan for enhancing and accelerating the development of field epidemiology capacity worldwide, 8 recommendations were developed that comprise the Global Field Epidemiology Roadmap 8 : Although progress in constituting the SLG was necessarily slowed by the immediate demands of the global pandemic response, a broad array of global health leaders enthusiastically agreed to become members of the SLG. At this writing, the SLG comprises highly experienced directors of field epidemiology programs as well as senior leaders from WHO; the US CDC; the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control; the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention; the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; TEPHINET; regional field epidemiology support organizations in Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and Asia; and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The first full meeting of the SLG was held April 13, 2021. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, FETP trainees and alumni have been at the center of the response in every country served by such a program. 9 Globally, FETPs have been engaged in each of the 10 pillars of public health emergency preparedness and response identified by WHO. 10 They have served on and led rapid response teams and trained health workers and contact tracers. They have investigated suspected and confirmed cases, analyzed vast amounts of surveillance data, and created new dashboards and other ways to visualize data. At airports and other THE GLOBAL FIELD EPIDEMIOLOGY ROADMAP points of entry, they have screened countless travelers and helped to set up and manage quarantine facilities. In emergency operations centers across the world, they have helped to respond to hotline callers reporting COVID-19 cases or seeking information and to disseminate information about COVID-19 prevention within their communities. The WHO International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR) 11 calls for countries to establish core competencies for surveillance and response to achieve global health security. The Joint External Evaluation tool, 12 part of the IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, includes having FETP in place as a key indicator for ''functional public health surveillance and response at all levels of the health system and the effective implementation of the IHR.'' In the face of the most devastating pandemic since 1918, it is essential that all countries accelerate their efforts to ensure a robust public health workforce that can prevent, detect, and quickly respond to public health threats like COVID-19. The Global Field Epidemiology Roadmap provides a systematic plan for achieving this goal, a plan that we encourage the global public health community to review, endorse, and identify ways to support without delay. Building global epidemiology and response capacity with Field Epidemiology Training Programs Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Programs as a strategy to improve disease surveillance and response Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network. Training programs Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network. FETP activities in response to coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) Field epidemiology training programs. New international health resources Stronger national public health institutes for global health The Global Field Epidemiology Roadmap: A Report of the Meeting Held at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Decatur, GA: The Task Force for Global Health Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network. COVID-19 news from our network COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan World Health Organization. International Health Regulations World Health Organization (WHO) We would like to acknowledge the important contributions of all participants in the Global Field Epidemiology Roadmap meetings in Bellagio, Italy, and Geneva, Switzerland.