11-12 December 2019, New Delhi: The WHO Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Programme launched in December 2016 celebrated the Graduation Conference of its first cohort of 20 EIS officers, as part of the National Polio Surveillance Programme (NPSP) transitioning from Polio to Public Health.
EIS is a three-year on the job, skill-based advanced training on epidemiology conducted in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Speaking at the conference, Dr Henk Bekedam, WHO Representative to India, said that the EIS programme provides advanced training on applied epidemiology, envisioned to making NPSP a unique public health force, which is equipped to address public health challenges.
He further mentioned that the journey of skill development continues, and lessons learnt must be imparted to the upcoming cohort, along with government functionaries to build their capacity to respond to public health threats.
Dr Meghna Desai, CDC Country Director, congratulated the EIS Officers and stated that they have demonstrated skills in doing disease investigations and have set a good example for others to emulate.
Dr Pauline Harvey, Team Lead NPSP, acknowledged the vision of the WHO leadership in India that made this programme a reality. “This is indeed a proud moment – a first for NPSP, for WHO India and for WHO anywhere in the world. I congratulate all the EIS officers and the entire team for their dedication and support throughout this journey”, she stated,
The core principle of the EIS training is active learning through field-based outbreak investigations and close mentoring. Over the three years training period, the EIS officers acquired skills in conducting surveillance system assessment, investigating disease outbreak, planning an epidemiological study, writing abstracts for scientific conference submission, delivering presentations at national and international conferences, preparing epidemiological reports and writing scientific manuscripts.