Coordinating Office for Global Health - DGPHCD
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Background
The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes an integrated approach to building sustainable, nationally-owned disease surveillance systems. To help build such systems, WHO Africa Regional Office (AFRO) conceived the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR), which was adopted by member states in 1998.
IDSR Strategy
IDSR strategy aims to improve the availability and use of surveillance and laboratory data to control priority infectious diseases that are the leading cause of death, disability, and illness in the African region. IDSR is present in all 46 WHO AFRO countries.
Under the IDSR system, surveillance activities and resources are coordinated and streamlined. A focal person at each level of a health system collects surveillance information on priority infectious diseases and reports this information to the next level. A country uses this surveillance information to make decisions and to plan public health interventions in response to priority infectious diseases.
Partnerships
WHO AFRO works with various partners, including the Rockefeller Foundation, USAID, and CDC to implement IDSR activities in Africa.
CDC provides technical assistance to WHO AFRO and African Ministries of Health through a cross-center partnership with CCID, NIP, and DGPHCD. These three CDC programs provide their unique set of expertise to the process share funding, materials and resources for IDSR activities, and link with experts in other CDC programs and public health agencies.
DGPHCD Role
DGPHCD’s component of IDSR is the Global Surveillance Project (GSP), which develops regional surveillance strategies in Africa using locally available FETP resources, funding, and staff. These activities take place in targeted countries such as Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
These activities help strengthen surveillance systems and public health response in targeted countries so they can function independently. DGPHCD also helps develop a culture of information that successfully incorporates the use of this information in decision-making at all levels of a surveillance system. For more information, go to the IDSR website.
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Content Source: Coordinating Office for Global Health
Page last modified: April 3, 2007
