On March 31, KOFIH, in collaboration with the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), College of Medicine, Yonsei University (Myeong Heon Shin, Director), and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), held the International Symposium on Refresher Training for infectious disease course graduates of Lee Jong-wook Fellowship Program.

The symposium was organized as part of the refresher training for alumni of Lee Jong-wook Fellowship Infectious Diseases Program, which KOFIH has been running since 2013. To date, KOFIH has trained 207 professionals from ministries of health and national infectious disease response units in 12 developing countries, including Ghana, Laos, and Uganda. This symposium was attended by a total of 100 graduates. 

The symposium, themed “Strengthening capacity for infectious disease surveillance and improving vaccination coverage through One Health approach,” discussed various avenues for collaboration in responding to infectious diseases, such as establishing early warning and analysis systems for infectious diseases and national vaccine transportation systems.

Experts in the field of international infectious disease response, such as Dr. Oliver Morgan, Director of the Pandemic Hub at the World Health Organization (WHO), and Dr. Itlala Ahmed Gizo, One Health Specialist at the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), introduced the latest trends in infectious disease response, and Dr. Osei Kuffour Afreh, Director of the Oti District Health Office in Ghana, shared his experience in responding to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and gave a field-based case presentation.

“KOFIH fellows have established early surveillance systems in high-risk areas and developed effective vaccine delivery systems in harsh environments,” said Jung Hye-jin, Team Director of the Lee Jong-wook Academy. ”Knowledge sharing is leading to real change through sustainable collaboration between clinicians, community health workers, and policy makers.”

KOFIH will continue to support the strengthening of infectious disease response capacities in developing countries through collaboration with domestic and international organizations.

△ Poster of KOFIH-Yonsei-IVI Tropical Medicine Symposium

△ Presentation by Osei Kuffour Afreh, a graduating fellow of 2024 Lee Jong-wook Fellowship Program Infectious Disease Specialist Program