Preventable diseases: Health workers optimise use of active surveillance.

The training, which ended on Friday, October 4, had presentations on preventable diseases, including poliomyelitis, yellow fever, measles and neonatal tetanus.

The activity was supported by the World Health Organisation, WHO, and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, GPEI. 

The involvement of the second organisation is linked to the fact that polio surveillance is more demanding and the polyvalent poliovirus type 2 of which vaccination campaigns are carried out is said to be very unstable and mutates more often. 

Organisers said the training was therefore vital as it contributed to achieve the objectives of the Global Action Plan for Polio Surveillance, GAPPS, through effective surveillance.

Dr. Eric Mboke, head of the surveillance and response section at the Ministry of Public Health, explained, that eSURV Compagnon thus comes to correct the shortcomings of electronic surveillance already in used in Cameroon for several years. 

He added that the app helps health workers to determine which sites have not been covered with immunisation campaigns and how to incorporate traditional healers in public health management.

"In planning active surveillance activities, we had sites prioritised as active surveillance sites, but we did not have a complete list of all the surveillance sites that existed. That is the first thing that will change,” he said. 

“With eSURV Compagnon, we first have the list of all the surveillance sites that exist and now on these sites, we will prioritise those that are priorities, where we will carry out active surveillance,” Dr Mboke added. 

It was disclosed that teams in the field will now visualise health unit’s surveillance sites from their phones and visit those accordingly. The tool will be enabling health workers with data surveillance focal points to optimise search for potential sites to be visited.

At the level of the Ministry of Public Health, they are able to determine with eSURV Compagnon which health districts are yet to meet up the targeted immunisation plans. Vaccination programmes are determined based on the epidemiology of a disease, the effectiveness of available vaccines, and the ability to reach target populations. 

The Expanded Programme on Immunization, EPI, was launched by the World Health Organisation in 1974 with the aim of making vaccines available to all children worldwide. After remarkable achievements in its half-century of existence, including the successful eradication of wild poliovirus, the country was certified wild poliovirus-free in 2020, and the elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus. 

The EPI is now turning its attention to scaling up the fight against diseases such as malaria, measles, yellow fever and rotavirus diarrhea. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3253 of Tuesday October 08, 2024