Strengthening Health System in Cabo Verde: Implementation of Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Program From 2021 to 2024

Background: Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETPs) are global strategies for strengthening public health surveillance by training professionals to respond to health emergencies. In Cabo Verde, following the 2019 Joint External Evaluation (JEE), gaps in the national epidemiological workforce were identified. In response to this challenge, the Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Program of Cabo Verde (EpiCV) was implemented. This study aims to describe the process of implementation and the main results of the EpiCV, wich was carried out between 2021 and 2024 on the country’s public health surveillance system. Methods: Descriptive study based on an analysis of documentary sources and program databases. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the profile of the professionals trained and the products generated during the training. Results: EpiCV has implemented six cohorts and trained 93 frontline surveillance officers, with representation across all 22 municipalities in the country. The majority were female (61; 65.59%) and the median age was 37 years (median range 25-59). Nurses (n=30; 32.26%), and physicians (n=22; 23.66%) are professions most common among graduates. In addition, 32 (53.33%) of the professionals had more than 10 years' service and work in municipality (n=54; 58.08%), and the majority were in the country's capital, Praia (n=29; 31.18%). During training, more than 370 technical reports were produced, including surveillance data quality reports; case studies; investigations and responses to various public health events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; cases of imported malaria, gastroenteritis and shigellosis outbreaks, and the first documented urinary schistosomiasis outbreak in the country. Conclusions: The implementation of EpiCV represented a breakthrough in the country's health surveillance, promoting the formation of a multidisciplinary workforce aligned with the “One Health” approach. It is recommended that the program continues, as well as its institutionalization in the National Health System, as a way of guaranteeing the consolidation of the gains already achieved and facing future threats to public health with greater preparedness and resilience.