Epidemiology and Laboratory Training

Strengthening National Capacity To Meet Growing Demands

"FELTP is regarded as a success on the continent. South Africa often gets called on to help surrounding countries strengthen their capacity to respond to disease outbreaks."
— Katherine Robinson, Epidemiology and Strategic Information Branch Chief, CDC South Africa

South Africa has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world at 18.1%. To combat the epidemic effectively, strategic information must not only be accurate and timely but it must also be utilized by trained epidemiologists to guide program planning and implementation, sustain commitment, and ensure accountability. South Africa needs a highly skilled public health workforce at all levels of the government to monitor the epidemic by developing appropriate surveillance, surveys and health information systems and to evaluate the impact of prevention initiatives.

In addition, with the rapid scale up of HIV treatment in South Africa coupled with the growing need for HIV diagnosis and care, laboratory capacity must be strengthened to meet the demand.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in South Africa (CDC South Africa), through its Global AIDS Program (GAP), works hand-in-hand with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and National Health Laboratory System (NHLS) to strengthen the epidemiologic and laboratory capacity within South Africa.