The Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) India Conference 2023 – or the FETPICON2023 - was held from February 22 to 24, 2023 at Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The conference was hosted by National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) – a public health institution providing science-based policy guidance and services to India Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
India currently implements all three FETP training tiers (Advanced, Intermediate and Frontline) at three training hubs: NCDC; the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE), and the World Health Organization Country Office for India (WCO India). Across all three training tiers, more than 300 FETP officers and mentors have attended the conference. In addition, epidemiologists from ministries of health from India, Nepal, Bangladesh… and international partners such as US-CDC, WHO SEARO office, TEPHINET, SAFETYNET were invited as conference speakers, moderators, and judges. There were 48 oral and 53 poster presentations of which 10 presentations from FETPs in SEARO countries.
SAFETYNET India team has played an important role in support NCDC to conduct the conference. SAFETYNET consultants in Delhi and Chennai provided technical support in preparation, review, and submission of the abstracts, poster and oral presentations. Dr. Sushma Choudhary and Dr. Mohan Kumar were member of organizing, scientific and cultural committees. They provided logistic support to NCDC to coordinating with the event management and booking agencies for conference venue, delegates’ travel and stay, backdrop, banner, podium, badges, conference kit and certificates. They also worked on conference agenda, themes, site visits, guidelines and review checklist.
On the SAFETYNET headquarters side, Dr. Maria Consorcia Lim-Quizon, Dr. Fadzilah Kamaludin and Dr. Linh attended the conference as moderator for the panel discussion, and judges for the oral and poster presentations.