Fuerteventura Health Area to Host 54 Public Health Training Sessions in 2026

The initiative is aimed at the island’s health professionals to strengthen coordination in the face of community health risks

The Health Area of Fuerteventura, part of the Canary Islands’ Ministry of Health, will launch in 2026 a training programme consisting of 54 specialised public‑health sessions for the island’s health professionals.

Co‑ordinated by the Continuing‑Education Department of the Fuerteventura Health Services Management, the programme includes 52 sessions in Primary‑Care centres and two sessions for strategic hospital services.

The main goal is to reinforce coordination, communication and joint action among the different levels of care and public‑health services, especially when situations pose a risk to the population’s health.

Training Delivered by Public‑Health Inspectors

The sessions will be taught by the Public‑Health Technical Inspectors (TISP) of the Fuerteventura Health Area, providing practical training based on their direct experience handling health incidents on the island.
The Inspection team comprises nine pharmacists and veterinarians, overseen by a section chief, who work across key areas for collective health protection.

Food Safety and Environmental Control

Key public‑health tasks include food safety, which covers inspection and monitoring of restaurants and food‑trade outlets, sanitary control in slaughterhouses, supervision of food‑industry facilities, and management of alerts and outbreaks.

In the realm of environmental health, inspectors run programmes to control drinking‑water quality, monitor recreational waters such as beaches and pools, prevent legionellosis, and oversee activities with potential health risks, such as tattoo and micropigmentation studios.

The team also carries out vector surveillance, especially at the island’s entry points, to detect early the presence of invasive species that could affect public health.

These activities are supported by the Fuerteventura Public‑Health Laboratory, which provides technical assistance through water and food sample analysis, epidemiological investigations, and health alerts.

Training Programme Content

The curriculum will cover a range of topics related to public‑health management on the island, including:

• Organisation of the sanitary inspection system
• Response to food‑ or water‑borne toxin outbreaks
• Control of drinking‑water and recreational‑water quality
• Management of health alerts
• Legionellosis control

In the hospital setting, clinical scenarios that require close coordination between care services and public health will be addressed, such as ciguatera cases and food‑poisoning outbreaks.

The training activities have the endorsement of the Continuing‑Education Commission of the Ministry of Health, guaranteeing official recognition for participating health professionals.