Making ou ma k: Celeb a ing ield epidemiology in ac ion and
AFENET’s 20-yea legacy
Sheba Nakacubo Gi a1,&, Allan Mwesiga1, Chukwuma Da id Umeokonkwo1
1A ican Field Epidemiology Ne wo k (AFENET), Kampala, Uganda
KEYWORDS: FETP, Ou b eak In es iga ion,
AFENET, ACoDD, Global Heal h Secu i y,
JIEPH
&CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Sheba Nakacubo Gi a, A ican Field
Epidemiology Ne wo k (AFENET), Kampala,
Uganda, Email: shebagi [email protected]
RECEIVED
04/09/25
ACCEPTED
05/09/25
PUBLISHED
05/09/25
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a ene s-20-yea -legacy/#sec1
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In e en ional Epidemiology and Public Heal h
[In e ne ]. This is an Open Access a icle
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Commons A ibu ion In e na ional 4.0 License
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CITATION
Sheba Nakacubo Gi a e al. Making ou ma k:
Celeb a ing ield epidemiology in ac ion and
AFENET’s 20-yea legacy. J In e al Epidemiol
Public Heal h. 2025 Sep; 8(3): 70.
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.37432/jieph-d-25-00187
Edi o ial
Edi o ial
Sep embe his yea ma ks a dual celeb a ion o
public heal h in A ica, wi h he global obse ance
o he Wo ld Field Epidemiology Day on 7 Sep embe
and he ongoing 20 h anni e sa y celeb a ions o
he A ican Field Epidemiology Ne wo k (AFENET).
The 2025 WFED heme, “Making Ou Ma k: Field
Epidemiology in Ac ion,” in i es us o e lec on he
ans o ma i e jou ney o ield epidemiology and i s
impac ac oss he A ican con inen .
F om humble beginnings o a obus ne wo k o
p o essionals sa egua ding communi ies, AFENET
has been ins umen al in s eng hening public heal h
sys ems, esponding o ou b eaks, and building a
esilien heal h wo k o ce. This edi o ial pays ibu e
o wo decades o dedica ion, inno a ion, and
impac —while cha ing he pa h o wa d o a
heal hie , mo e p epa ed A ica.
AFENET: A Vision Realized
Founded in 2005, AFENET eme ged om a sha ed
ision o build a con inen al ne wo k o Field
Epidemiology (and Labo a o y) T aining P og ams
(FETPs) ha would empowe A ican coun ies o
de ec , in es iga e, and espond o public heal h
h ea s. The cu en membe ship s ands a 40 FETPs
ac oss Anglophone, F ancophone and Lusophone
A ica (Figu e 1). O e he yea s, AFENET has
g own in o a us ed pa ne o Minis ies o Heal h,
Minis ies o Ag icul u e, Minis ies o
En i onmen , Na ional Public Heal h Ins i u es,
Wo ld Heal h O ganisa ion, Uni ed S a es Cen es
o Disease Con ol and P e en ion (CDC), A ica
CDC, in e na ional unde s and academic
ins i u ions, os e ing a collabo a i e ecosys em o
public heal h ad ancemen .
AFENET’s ma k is isible in he s eng hened
labo a o y sys ems, enhanced disease su eillance,
and apid ou b eak esponses ha ha e become
hallma ks o public heal h esilience in A ica. I is
also e iden in he g owing cad e o women leade s
in epidemiology, he in eg a ion o One Heal h
app oaches, and he inc easing use o digi al
ools o eal- ime da a collec ion and analysis. The
2025 WFED heme pe ec ly aligns wi h AFENET’s
20-yea jou ney o aining “disease de ec i es”
ac oss A ica and demons a es ield epidemiology
in ac ion.
Twen y yea s o ac ion and impac
1. Wo k o ce De elopmen h ough Field
Epidemiology T aining P og ams (FETPs)
AFENET has ained housands o public heal h
p o essionals ac oss A ica, equipping hem wi h
skills in ou b eak in es iga ion, su eillance, and
da a analysis. I has so a 3,798 Ad anced FETP
g adua es, 1,078 In e media e and 14,299 F on line.
These g adua es collec i ely a e ma king hei ma k
on he con inen . Fo example, he Nige ian FELTP
has ained o e 1,000 on line epidemiologis s and
esponded o mo e han 330 public heal h
eme gencies, including Ebola, COVID-19, Lassa
e e , and chole a [1]. FETPs a e acknowledged o
be a c i ical componen o na ional public heal h
ins i u es in A ica [2].
2. Rapid Response o Public Heal h Eme gencies
The AFENET Co ps o Disease De ec i es
(ACoDD) was launched in 2018. This is a apid
esponse eam ha can be deployed wi hin 48 hou s
o suppo ou b eak esponse ac oss he Ne wo k
[3]. ACoDD has suppo ed esponses o Mpox,
COVID-19, chole a, measles, and o he epidemics in
di e en coun ies, men o ed on line heal h
wo ke s and enhanced eme gency p epa edness
[4]. To da e, 4,534 ACoDD deploymen s ha e been
made and con ibu ed owa ds s eng hening global
heal h secu i y. Besides ACoDD, ainee and
g adua e ield epidemiologis s in a ious coun ies
ha e been ou inely deployed o add ess public
heal h eme gencies. A case in poin is Uganda, wi h
AFENET- ained epidemiologis s a he o e on o
esponding o majo public heal h c ises, om Ebola
and COVID-19 o localised ou b eaks [5,6].
3. S eng hening Su eillance Sys ems
FETPs in A ica, like elsewhe e globally, a e a he
o e on o ou b eak in es iga ions and disease
su eillance. These ac i i ies a e some o he key
ou pu s o FETP ainees and g adua es. No ably,
Guinea Bissau’s F on line FETP con i med he i s
cases o Zika in he coun y, demons a ing he
obus su eillance and ou b eak esponse moun ed
by hese epidemiologis s. [7]
4. S eng hening Immunisa ion Sys ems
AFENET has played a pi o al ole in ou ine
immuniza ion and polio e adica ion e o s,
especially in Nige ia. Th ough he Na ional S op
T ansmission o Polio (NSTOP), NFELTP has
helped iden i y and each ze o-dose child en and
consis en ly missed se lemen s, imp o ing accine
3 |Page numbe no o ci a ion pu poses
co e age. In i s i s yea o implemen a ion, N-
STOP o ice s eached 200 un epo ed suspec ed
AFP cases and accina ed 36,773 (57.6%) 0-dose <5
yea s o age child en [8]. NSTOP has con ibu ed
owa ds imp o ed quali y o polio campaigns [9].
5. S eng hening Public Heal h Labo a o y Sys ems
Since i s incep ion, AFENET has been keen on
con ibu ing owa ds labo a o y s eng hening. I s
labo a o y s eng hening ini ia i es ha e p ima ily
ocused on building capaci y o managing and
imp o ing labo a o y se ices, pa icula ly o HIV
es ing, in A ican and he Ca ibbean coun ies.
Some o he FETPs ain labo a o y pe sonnel
alongside epidemiologis s o build hei echnical
and leade ship skills; such p og ams a e e e ed o
as Field Epidemiology and Labo a o y T aining
P og ams as opposed o Field Epidemiology
T aining P og ams. AFENET was a he o e on o
in oducing S eng hening Labo a o y Managemen
owa ds Acc edi a ion (SLMTA)/ S epwise
Labo a o y Quali y Imp o emen P ocess Towa ds
Acc edi a ion (SLIPTA), championing ex e nal
quali y assu ance, labo a o y in o ma ion sys ems,
as well as equipmen main enance and calib a ion in
A ica. An end-o -p ojec e alua ion showed ha
HIV labo a o y ne wo ks and quali y managemen
sys ems we e s eng hened in all pa icipa ing
coun ies [10].
Mo e ecen ly, AFENET joined he A ican
Labo a o ies Excellence Conso ium (AFRO-
EXCON) ha was launched in July 2025 as a
ounde membe , cemen ing i s commi men o
labo a o y s eng hening.
6. S a egic Pa ne ships and Regional
Collabo a ion
AFENET collabo a es wi h Minis ies o Heal h, he
Wo ld Heal h O ganisa ion, US CDC and A ica
CDC, uni e si ies, and o he s akeholde s o build
sus ainable public heal h p og ams. These
collabo a ions a e mu ually bene icial and ensu e
ha FETPs add ess na ional and egional p io i ies
and encou age c oss- egional lea ning. I has signed
MoUs wi h o ganiza ions like EMPHNET o
expand capaci y building ac oss A ica and he
Eas e n Medi e anean [11].
7. Ad ocacy and knowledge sha ing
F om hos ing scien i ic con e ences and scien i ic
w i ing wo kshops o es ablishing he Jou nal o
In e en ional Epidemiology and Public Heal h
(JIEPH), AFENET p o ides hese a ious pla o ms
o acili a e he sha ing o ield epidemiology
expe iences and lessons om A ica. JIEPH is p oo
o AFENET’s commi men o championing ield
epidemiology knowledge sha ing. Au ho s do no
pay any ees o publish in his jou nal, no do hey
ha e o pay o ead i s a icles, ensu ing ha A ica-
based ield epidemiology and public heal h s o ies
a e published o pos e i y and eadily accessible o
all. Since many o he au ho s a e i s - ime au ho s,
JIEPH has a dedica ed eam o edi o s and scien i ic
w i e s o suppo hem du ing he o en-daun ing
publica ion jou ney. I in i e you o ead he cu en
and pas issues o JIEPH o see ou ield
epidemiologis s in ac ion and o app ecia e hei
nume ous con ibu ions owa ds s eng hening local
heal h sys ems and imp o ing global heal h
secu i y. JIEPH is now indexed in SCOPUS,
Di ec o y o Open Access Jou nals (DOAJ),
EBSCO, C ossRe , Index Cope nicus In e na ional,
A ican Jou nals Online (AJOL), among o he s.
Heal h Walk and NCD Medical Camp
On 21 Sep embe 2025, AFENET will hos a heal h
walk and ee medical camp in Kampala, Uganda, as
pa o i s 20 hanni e sa y celeb a ions. The medical
camp will include non-communicable diseases
(NCDs) awa eness ac i i ies. This e en is imely
and s a egic since i cas s ligh on he g owing
bu den o NCDs and showcases AFENET in ac ion.
NCDs a e he leading cause o dea h globally, wi h
h ee-qua e s o hese dea hs occu ing in low and
middle-income coun ies.
Looking Ahead
As AFENET en e s i s hi d decade, i should
b oaden i s ocus o also add ess eme ging challenges
such as an imic obial esis ance, clima e-sensi i e
diseases, digi al ans o ma ion, and you h
engagemen . I will need o de ise inno a i e
unding mechanisms o sus ain i s FETPs and
ope a ions du ing he cu en unce ain dono
unding landscape ha is cha ac e ised by shi ing
p io i ies and sh inking budge s. By in es ing in he
nex gene a ion o epidemiologis s and emb acing
inno a ion, AFENET is poised o con inue making
i s ma k.
4 |Page numbe no o ci a ion pu poses
Conclusion
The heme “Making Ou Ma k: Field Epidemiology in
Ac ion” is mo e han a slogan—i is a es amen o
he endu ing legacy o AFENET and he coun less
p o essionals who ha e dedica ed hei li es o
p o ec ing A ica’s heal h. As we celeb a e WFED
2025 and AFENET’s 20 h anni e sa y, we honou
he pas , emb ace he p esen , and en ision a u u e
whe e ield epidemiology con inues o be a
co ne s one o esilien public heal h sys ems.
Compe ing In e es
The au ho s o his wo k decla e no compe ing
in e es .
Funding
The au ho s did no ecei e any speci ic unding o
his wo k.
Au ho s´ con ibu ions
SNG concep ualised he wo k, w o e he ini ial
d a . AM and CDU c i ically e iewed he d a , all
au ho s ead and app o ed he inal e sion o
publica ion
Figu es
Figu e 1: Field Epidemiology T aining P og am in
Sub-Saha an A ica by ie
Re e ences
1. AFENET Nige ia. NFELTP: Nige ia Field
Epidemiology T aining P og am [In e ne ].
Abuja (Nige ia): AFENET Nige ia; c2023
[ci ed 2025 Sep 4]. A ailable
om: h ps://a ene nige ia.ne /po olio/n
el p/.
2. Cui A, Hamdani S, Wolde sadik MA,
Cle ille JW, Hu A, Abedi AA, B a on S,
Tu cios-Ruiz RM. The ield epidemiology
aining p og am’s con ibu ion o essen ial
public heal h unc ions in se en na ional
public heal h ins i u es. In J Public Heal h
[In e ne ]. 2023 Aug 15 [ci ed 2025 Sep
4];68:1606191. A ailable
om: h ps://www.ssph-
jou nal.o g/a icles/10.3389/ijph.2023.160
6191/ ull. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2023.1606191.
3. Masii a B, An a a SN, Kazoo a HB,
Namusisi O, Gombe NT, Magazani AN,
Nguku PM, Kazambu D, Gi a SN,
Kihembo C, Sawadogo B, Bogale TA,
Ohuabunwo C, Nsubuga P, Tshimanga M.
Building a new pla o m o suppo public
heal h eme gency esponse in A ica: he
AFENET Co ps o Disease De ec i es,
2018–2019. BMJ Glob Heal h [In e ne ].
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A ailable
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5. Ha is JR, Kadobe a D, Kwesiga B,
Kabwama SN, Bulage L, Kyobe HB,
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6 |Page numbe no o ci a ion pu poses
Figu e 1: Field Epidemiology T aining P og am in Sub-Saha an A ica by ie
