GPH 104: Training Public Health Professionals (Developing Countries)

Effective public health systems depend on skilled professionals capable of surveillance, programme design, outbreak response, policy analysis, and leadership. In many low- and middle-income countries, workforce shortages, migration, limited training infrastructure, and funding constraints pose significant challenges.This chapter examines strategies for developing public health capacity, including field epidemiology training programmes, academic partnerships, in-country institutional strengthening, mentorship, and leadership development. It considers sustainability, retention, and the importance of contextualised training aligned with local needs.Training is framed not as isolated education, but as system investment. Strengthening public health professionals strengthens governance, preparedness, and long-term resilience.Capacity-building is prevention at the structural level.Key Takeaways* Workforce shortages limit public health system performance.* Field epidemiology and applied training improve outbreak response capacity.* Sustainable in-country training reduces dependence on external expertise.* Leadership development strengthens governance and accountability.* Retention strategies are essential to prevent workforce migration.* Context-specific curricula improve relevance and impact.* Capacity-building underpins long-term system resilience. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drmanaankarray.substack.com/subscribe