Strengthening the public health workforce is essential for improving disease surveillance, outbreak detection, and evidence-based public health response. Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETPs) play a central role in developing these competencies by combining theoretical instruction with field-based learning and practical exercises [1]. One of the most effective tools used in applied epidemiology training is the teaching case study, which allows trainees to simulate real public health events, analyze epidemiologic data, and practice decision-making in a structured learning environment. Case-based learning has been widely adopted in epidemiology and public health education because it promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, and the practical application of epidemiologic methods. This supplement of the Pan African Medical Journal presents a collection of teaching case studies developed through a regional initiative supported by Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET) to strengthen applied epidemiology training. The manuscripts included in this supplement were developed following a regional workshop and a structured training program organized by EMPHNET to train public health professionals in the development of teaching case studies. Participants in this initiative were guided through a structured course that covered the methodology of transforming real public health events into educational case studies. Draft case studies produced by the participants were subsequently reviewed through a structured mentoring and peer-review process coordinated by EMPHNET to ensure scientific rigor, clarity, and educational value before submission for publication.

This supplement forms part of a broader series of supplements aimed at strengthening FETPs and enhancing the education of public health professionals. Through this initiative, more than 100 teaching case studies have been developed addressing priority public health issues relevant to countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and other settings. The initiative seeks to expand the availability of high-quality case-based learning materials that can be used by universities, training institutes, and FETPs to strengthen competencies in surveillance, outbreak investigation, epidemiologic analysis, and public health decision-making. The case studies included in this supplement cover a diverse range of public health scenarios encountered in field epidemiology practice. They address surveillance system evaluation, outbreak investigations, epidemiologic data analysis, and interpretation of surveillance data. The cases illustrate the application of epidemiologic methods in different contexts and settings and provide practical learning opportunities for trainees. Topics covered include COVID-19 surveillance and outbreak investigations, measles outbreak investigations in institutional settings, and evaluation of tuberculosis surveillance systems. Other case studies demonstrate the application of statistical measures such as rates, ratios, and proportions using population health data, investigations of acute watery diarrhea outbreaks, and analyses of COVID-19 outbreaks using basic biostatistical approaches.