TEPHINET held its Ninth Global Scientific Conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand between August 7 and August 11, 2017. The aim of this conference was to provide Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) residents with the opportunity to give scientific presentations and to increase their knowledge of outbreak investigations and their significance to public health. From another angle, the four-day event served to maintain and increase skills of participants. Its sessions highlighted the skills that FETP residents and graduates need for determining the appropriateness of epidemiological methods as well as presenting and interpreting results clearly. Coinciding with TEPHINET’s 20th anniversary celebrations, the conference held the theme “Building on 20 Years of Applied Epidemiological Training to Advance Disease Surveillance, Response, and Sustainable Development.” Its sessions saw participation and representation from over 75 countries from around the world as well as regional networks. Within this global representation, FETP residents and graduates from the EMR also stood out for their work and their achievements.

More specifically, oral and poster presentations were given by FETP residents from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Pakistan at this event. From FETP Egypt, one oral and one poster presentation were given, while FETP Iraq residents gave a total of five oral presentations and two poster presentations. FETP Jordan residents gave a total of three oral and three poster presentations. Furthermore, one oral presentation was given from FETP Morocco and eight oral as well as seven poster presentations were given by FELTP residents in Pakistan. Together, these presentations covered a wide spectrum of topics ranging from non-communicable diseases, to communicable diseases, outbreak investigations, emergency response, and other topics. Together, the presenters from the EMR offered other conference participants the opportunity to familiarize themselves with health challenges that are typical to this region and that most affect its communities.

FETP residents from the EMR also showcased the region’s cultural diversity at the event’s international night, with contributions made from FETP Morocco, FETP Jordan and FETP Pakistan. In a session on Regional Networks, Executive Director of EMPHNET Dr. Mohannad Al-Nsour spoke about the EMR as a region and the role FETPs play within it. He stressed that the EMR is a region of socio-political unrest and that such conditions have their impact on the public health status of communities. He highlighted the role of EMPHNET as a network supporting these FETPs, and he spoke about EMPHNET’s role in developing more programs that serve this purpose.

The Ninth TEPHINET Global Scientific Conference also saw the launch of TEPHINET’s Networking Platform which was created to keep FETP Alumni from around the world connected. This platform, “TEPHIConnect,” was officially launched as part of TEPHINET’s 20th Anniversary Session. During this session, TEPHINET’s Taskforce spoke about the different features that this platform offers to the FETP Alumni community, while representatives from each regional network spoke about the specific benefits that this network would have for their respective regions. The EMR region was represented in this session with a small talk on how TEPHIConnect can offer the region’s FETP Alumni with more opportunities for professional and educational development.

From another angle, results of TEPHINET’s photo contest were also announced during this conference, and the first prize went to FETP Egypt’s Resident Dr. Wessam Elnahry.

Other key topics discussed during the conference’s sessions included; partnerships as a cornerstone of TEPHINET’s support to FETPs, WHO guidelines on ethics in public health surveillance, accelerating innovation in surveillance, public health entomology, FETP institutionalization, tackling NCD risk factors, amongst others. To further reinforce the educational value of the sessions this conference offered, its agenda also included a day of field visits. These visits familiarized participants with on-the -ground practices related to One Health participatory surveillance, environmental and occupational health, NCDs, emergency medical services, and HIV.

With its diversified agenda, this conference provided the ideal platform for FETP residents to expand their knowledge and to interact with public health professionals from around the world.