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Disease Surveillance Networks

Global Activities

Other regional networks exist around the world (such as the RF-supported EAIDSNET—East African Infectious Disease Surveillance Network and MECIDS—Middle-Eastern Consortium for Infectious Disease Surveillance, supported by the Global Health and Security Initiative of the Nuclear Threat Initiative). These regional surveillance networks are independently developing novel approaches that enhance the quality of disease surveillance worldwide.

A recent Bellagio meeting http://www.ghsi.org/spotlight.html sponsored by the Foundation brought together these regional networks for the first time. This conference allowed networks to share experiences and lessons learned, and to forge new relationships.

Our Initiative proposes to formalize a regular mechanism for collaboration and sharing of information and best practices across these networks. We envision the creation of a forum to share the following:

• Experience and techniques being developed to conduct data gathering with corresponding approaches in diverse settings
• New methods of early warning and detection and future forecasting
• Innovative IT applications to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of disease surveillance

Diseases do not respect borders and spread quickly in today’s increasingly interconnected world. Global systems of disease monitoring, involving agencies such as the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), need strong links to local, national and regional systems of disease surveillance. Regional disease surveillance networks could provide this critical link between country-level efforts to detect and contain diseases and international systems of disease monitoring. To build these bridges between regional networks and global institutions, the Foundation would promote the following:

• Fostering of a global monitoring system (through the linked regional networks) and an institutional learning forum to track progress and share opportunities to surveillance and response
• Establishment of a mechanism, with WHO, for setting targets that monitor and assess the state of surveillance systems as markers for the public health system
• Convening of special sessions at the World Health Assembly and other opportunities for discussion regarding public health surveillance

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