The Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) is collaborating with the Ethiopian Ministry of National Defense and the Federal Police Commission of Ethiopia to establish and strengthen surveillance systems in the health facilities and structures serving armed and police forces, their families and communities. Critical in this process is a well-trained workforce with skills to collect, analyze, and interpret surveillance data and initiate timely public health response to health emergencies, reducing associated morbidities and deaths. With funding from US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and support from EPHI, World Health Organization (WHO) and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 110 officers were given the training in 2019. In addition, 46 professionals (19 from defense forces and 27 from the police) were trained and graduated from the program in February 2021. 

The three months of in-service training incorporated classroom workshops and job-relevant field projects to apply and reinforce what trainees learned in class while providing services. Participants were equipped with skills to collect, analyze, interpret and report public health surveillance data, including quality audits and root cause analysis. They were also introduced to outbreak investigation and response processes, enabling them to conduct the descriptive phases of any disease outbreak and describe the time, place, and person characteristics. It is envisaged that once they return to their workstations, they will apply these skills to strengthen surveillance within the two institutions.

At the end of the training, a Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) were signed between EPHI and the Ministry of Defense, and between EPHI and Federal Police Commission.   The MoU will facilitate sharing of surveillance data and reports, resources for emergency investigations and responses, and also included an agreement on joint capacity building, preparedness, and coordinated response to public health emergencies.
The graduation ceremony was conducted on February 17, 2021 in Adama, Ethiopia in the presence of representatives from the Government of Ethiopia, US CDC, the US Embassy and WHO Ethiopia. The United States Government provided financial support to the training the program through the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the US Department of Defense.