Regional Initiatives in Support of Surveillance in East Africa: The East Africa Integrated Disease Surveillance Network (EAIDSNet) Experience

The East African Integrated Disease Surveillance Network (EAIDSNet) was formed in response to a growing frequency of cross-border malaria outbreaks in the 1990s and a growing recognition that fragmented disease interventions, coupled with weak laboratory capacity, were making it difficult to respond...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Emerging health threats journal 2013, Vol.6 (1), p.19948
Main Authors: Ope, Maurice, Sonoiya, Stanley, Kariuki, James, Mboera, Leonard E.G, Gandham, Ramana N.V, Schneidman, Miriam, Kimura, Mwihaki
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
Africa, Eastern
AIDS
Avian flu
Boundaries
Cholera
Communicable Diseases, Emerging - prevention & control
Community Networks - organization & administration
disease surveillance
EAIDSNet
EAPHLNP
East Africa
Fever
field simulation exercise
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Health surveillance
Humans
Infectious diseases
International Cooperation
Laboratories
Mortality
One Health
Organizational Case Studies
Poliomyelitis
Population Surveillance
Program Development
Public health
regional surveillance network
Supplement 1, 2013
Tropical diseases
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Summary:The East African Integrated Disease Surveillance Network (EAIDSNet) was formed in response to a growing frequency of cross-border malaria outbreaks in the 1990s and a growing recognition that fragmented disease interventions, coupled with weak laboratory capacity, were making it difficult to respond in a timely manner to the outbreaks of malaria and other infectious diseases. The East Africa Community (EAC) partner states, with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation, established EAIDSNet in 2000 to develop and strengthen the communication channels necessary for integrated cross-border disease surveillance and control efforts. The objective of this paper is to review the regional EAIDSNet initiative and highlight achievements and challenges in its implementation. Major accomplishments of EAIDSNet include influencing the establishment of a Department of Health within the EAC Secretariat to support a regional health agenda; successfully completing a regional field simulation exercise in pandemic influenza preparedness; and piloting a web-based portal for linking animal and human health disease surveillance. The strategic direction of EAIDSNet was shaped, in part, by lessons learned following a visit to the more established Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance (MBDS) regional network. Looking to the future, EAIDSNet is collaborating with the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC), EAC partner states, and the World Health Organization to implement the World Bank-funded East Africa Public Health Laboratory Networking Project (EAPHLNP). The network has also begun lobbying East African countries for funding to support EAIDSNet activities.
ISSN:1752-8550
2001-1350
1752-8550
DOI:10.3402/ehtj.v6i0.19948