What is the FETP?

The Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) is a two-year teaching program in applied epidemiology for physicians and other health professionals. Five residents are accepted for training each year.

The program was started in 1988 in Saudi Arabia through a cooperative agreement between the Ministry of Health and the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC). There are now six other FETPs worldwide (Taiwan, Philippines, Mexico, Indonesia, Peru, and Thailand).

FETP residents are assigned work in disease surveillance, outbreak investigations, and long-term projects on selected diseases of public health importance.

Most residents will continue their careers in public health with the government when they have finished their training.

Saudi Epidemiology Bulletin will present the results of recent work by the residents as well as by other contributors. Persons interested in contributing to Saudi Epidemiology Bulletin, seeking epidemiologic assistance, or applying to the training program should contact Dr. Nasser Al-Hamdan, technical supervisor of the FETP, or Dr. Robert Fontaine, consultant to the FETP (phone and fax 479-0726 or 478-1424). Correspondence should be addressed to:

Field Epidemiology Training Program Ministry of Health

P.O. Box 6344

Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia