I had the privilege of being part of the third and final workshop of the Morobe Frontline FETP. This training is almost entirely organised and delivered by local FETP faculty. The training curriculum was co-designed for the PNG context and is highly interactive, using virtually no PowerPoint presentations.
For this workshop, there were 17 trainees and 7 local trainers and mentors from human health, animal health, plant health and environmental health. It was great seeing the interaction between trainees from the different sectors and hearing the outcomes of their field projects. The importance and magnitude of the health challenges being tackled by these fellow is both sobering and amazing. For example, one outbreak investigation was in a remote area experiencing tribal conflict. The trainee deployed with a team to investigate an outbreak which had claimed the lives of several children and adults. The team was able to investigate, address sorcery related concerns, collect specimens, confirm typhoid, and put in place control measures. Other projects included an investigation into suspected African Swine Fever, multiple pertussis outbreak investigations, an environmental investigation following an oil-spill from a ship, investigations into coconut rhinoceros beetle and fall armyworm, a study tracking the importation and distribution of veterinary drugs, and a laboratory study comparing diagnosis of malaria using Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) with Rapid Diagnostic Tests. During the week, all the trainers and trainees went on a field trip to a crocodile farm to explore some of the One Health challenges faced by this industry.
