Public Health Surveillance and Data Management

The World Health Organization (WHO 2003) recognizes the importance of disease surveillance. WHO is affirming their commitment to support national authorities in strengthening disease surveillance. It encourages member states to strengthen their national capacities, and to contribute to international technical cooperation in global alert and response (WHO 2003). The recent disease outbreaks reported globally created unprecedented public health challenges as is the case of Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB), Ebola viral hemorrhagic fever, West Nile viral encephalitis, intentional anthrax, and H5N1 virus, all of which infect humans and have heightened concerns over global health security and global economic stability. The emergence of the mentioned outbreaks above, together with the recent Covid-19, attest to investing adequate resources in capacity building for both surveillance and outbreaks preparedness. Any disease outbreak that poses a threat to public health requires early detection and control.