RIMS launches I-FETP to strengthen disease surveillance in Northeast
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 18 2026: The Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal, in collaboration with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, has launched a one-year Intermediate Field Epidemiology Training Programme (I-FETP), for health officials from Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

The first five-day contact session was held from July 13 to 17, 2026 at the Department of Community Medicine, RIMS.

A total of 17 I-FETP officers from the three States are undergoing the training under the guidance of 5 WHO mentors and a central observer.

The programme began with a welcome address by Prof G Sunil Kumar Sharma, Director, RIMS.

This was followed by a virtual interaction with Dr Rakesh Gupta, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The session was formally inaugurated on July 15 by Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, who stressed the need to build field epidemiology capacity and strengthen disease surveillance nationwide.

The programme is being run simultaneously in 14 medical institutions across the country.

I-FETP is a competency-driven, part-time course designed to enhance the skills of District Surveillance Officers and District Epidemiologists.

It includes five one-week residential contact sessions and 8 to 10-week field intervals, during which participants will undertake field projects under mentor supervision.

Core activities include surveillance data analysis, outbreak investigation, epidemiological studies, and scientific report writing and presentation.

Officials said the initiative will boost early detection and response to disease outbreaks in the region.

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