Effective control of infectious diseases depends on surveillance systems that provide accurate and timely data. National surveillance systems provide information for determining priority actions on infectious diseases and making other public health decisions. Surveillance systems are a critical component of the health sector’s information system. Most current surveillance systems used in developing countries have evolved unevenly and are not consistently effective. As a result, national level policy makers do not always have a balanced picture of disease patterns and relative burden of disease.
USAID’s Partnerships for Health Reform (PHR) Project has developed a comprehensive approach to using advocacy to improve national surveillance systems. Strengthening surveillance systems requires that actors at all levels of the surveillance system, data collectors at the periphery to decision makers in the Ministry of Health, are engaged. PHR’s package of advocacy tools aim to facilitate the process of developing and implementing surveillance system improvements by garnering key stakeholder support and creating demand for surveillance data.
PHR’s products include a series of computer-aided presentation modules and a user guide, which will assist policymakers to understand the critical role of surveillance systems in the effective and timely response to disease control and for the appropriate allocation of resources for local disease patterns. It highlights the kind of changes that might be needed to make their surveillance systems more effective. The overall purpose of the advocacy presentation and user guide is to convince policy makers and stakeholders at all levels to take ownership and responsibility for infectious disease surveillance.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion the participate will: 1)Decribe the role of advocacy in improving national surveillance systems 2)Identify the elements of a good surveillance system and the risks of having an inadequate surveillance system for national infectious disease control
Keywords: Infectious Diseases, Surveillance
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Partnerships for Health Reform (PHR)
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.