Synergies between LinkTADs project and the Field Epidemiology Training Programme for Veterinarians (FETPV)

As part of the WP3 of the LinkTADs project, we are really enjoying the interaction with the China FETPV programme. CIRAD, in collaboration with FAO ECTAD China, CAHEC and RVC, has been involved from the very beginning, in the development of this training programme aiming at achieving sustainable development of veterinary epidemiology in China. Since 2010, we have witnessed the emergence of a new generation of Chinese epidemiologists willing to promote good practices in epidemiology and to become future trainers in this discipline.

 

It was a great pleasure to deliver a 3 days training workshop about evaluation of disease surveillance for the 3rd cohort of FETPV programme under the LinkTADs project. With the emergence of new zoonotic diseases, the capacities of surveillance systems to accurately characterise animal diseases are of public health importance. Timely and relevant evaluations of these systems are critical in order to improve their performance, their cost-effectiveness and to allow for more objective decision-making and acceptance by stakeholders. During the workshop, technical presentations were combined with practical cases to be discussed in groups.
 

Trainees actively participated in the role-playing activities which were very new for them. We asked them to play the roles of field evaluators or pig farmers/hunters involved in Classical Swine Fever surveillance network. The game helped them to gain insight into their own attitudes and behaviours and those of others when using participatory tools for evaluation.
Participants were taught as well how to use the EVATool, developed under the project RiskSur (http://www.fp7-risksur.eu). This tool and approach were as well discussed with CAHEC for future collaboration in the field of surveillance evaluation in China.