Strengthening Public Health Security At South Africa’s Borders- First Frontline Fetp Cohort Graduates

PRETORIA, South Africa, February 2, 2026/APO Group/ --

The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the National Department of Health (NDoH), and the Border Management Authority (BMA) successfully concluded South Africa’s first ever Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP) for Points of Entry (PoE) Frontline staff from 26–30 January 2026 in Johannesburg. This inaugural cohort marks a historic advancement in national border health surveillance and frontline detection capacities.

“This ceremony marks more than the completion of a training programme; it represents an important step forward in strengthening South Africa’s public health security—your journey has been both demanding and transformative.” — Ms. Shenaaz El-Halabi, WHO Representative.

This first of its kind initiative was designed to strengthen capacity for outbreak detection, surveillance and rapid response to public health threats at PoE and across provinces. The twelve weeks training followed a rigorous cycle that began with curriculum adaptation to suit PoE nature of work and staffing in October 2025 and included three workshops, two phases of fieldwork and sustained mentorship from WHO and NICD Technical Officers. The full cycle ran from 3 November 2025 to 30 January 2026.

Broadly, participants completed modules covering POE surveillance, traveler screening, reporting pathways and International Health Regulations (IHR) obligations, complemented by applied epidemiology projects, real-time site assessments and field based exercises. The PoE FETP curriculum covered foundational epidemiology, border health surveillance, data management and analysis, emergency preparedness, and full outbreak investigation skills. It also built strong competencies in applied epidemiology through case studies, problem analysis, laboratory linkages, scientific writing, communication, and preparation of documentation through group and individual work.

Speaking on the importance of mentorship and frontline vigilance, the NICD Director of South African FETP and AFENET Board Chair, Dr. Lazarus Kuonza, reminded the cohort:

“Your role at our borders is vital—every alert you detect and every decision you make protects the entire nation. Continue mentoring others, because strengthening each colleague strengthens South Africa’s first line of defense against cross border disease threats.”

The NDoH Chief Director for Environmental Health and Port Health Services, Ms. Aneliswa Cele as the leader who envisions the future of PoE capacity, emphasized the need to build on this achievement: “Let us not end here — we need to expand this training to more officials and integrate the skills gained into routine surveillance and response functions at Points of Entry. Let us not lose the momentum we have started.” Her message reinforces the commitment to sustained capacity building within border environments. 

Echoing this forward focused vision, Ms. Funeka Bongweni, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the BMA, highlighted the sector’s long-term aspirations: 

“From this work we want to see a growing contribution to the body of knowledge for Ports of Entry—this is only the beginning in laying a strong foundation.”

As South Africa’s first POE FETP frontline cohort, graduates are now equipped to enhance routine surveillance, improve early detection and reporting, support outbreak investigations and contribute to future training cycles through mentorship.

WHO, NDoH, NICD and BMA congratulate the pioneering cohort and extend appreciation to all facilitators, mentors and partners whose dedication made this milestone possible. Together, we advance towards a more resilient South Africa, capable of detecting and responding to public health threats at every point of entry.

This milestone was made possible through the Pandemic Fund-supported project.