Translating global lessons, improving local practice: Tobacco control case-studies from Kenya and Uganda's field epidemiology training program

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death globally and kills nearly 6 million people annually. To combat the epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) negotiated the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and developed a companion technical package of evidence-based interventions. The technical package outlines methods for implementing robust tobacco control policies that help countries reduce tobacco use and ensure FCTC compliance. Despite tobacco's threat, competing public health demands often diminish countries' capacity for and commitment to tobacco control, particularly in low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries. However, Kenya and Uganda - two LMIC's in Africa - demonstrated high levels of commitment to the issue by recently introducing tobacco control modules into their Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP). These tobacco control modules, which are new within the FETP framework, utilize a scientifically grounded curriculum built on WHO's technical package. The modules train country-level practitioners to monitor tobacco use, implement evidence-based tobacco control policies, create local subject matter expertise, and institute government commitment for tobacco control. Africa's nascent tobacco epidemic is unique in the world. Unlike other regions, prevalence remains low throughout much of the continent. The low regional prevalence coupled with the novel FETP tobacco control approach presents a unique opportunity to translate global lessons from battling the tobacco epidemic into local-level practice. Case studies of Kenya and Uganda's FETP tobacco control modules will be presented to demonstrate the program's novel approach to tobacco control and describe best practices for expanding the program to other countries.