Attendees during the State-Level Vaccine Preventable Disease Surveillance Transition Training at Hotel Vivor, Kohima, on September 23. (Photo Courtesy: HFW Nagaland)
Kohima, September 23 (MExN): Immunisation and disease surveillance must work hand in hand to ensure early detection, investigation and response to vaccine-preventable diseases, Commissioner & Secretary, Health & Family Welfare (HFW), Kevileno Angami, said on Wednesday.
She was speaking at the inauguration of the State-Level Vaccine Preventable Disease (VPD) Surveillance Transition Training at Hotel Vivor, Kohima.
The HFW is collaborating with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) India for the three-day training scheduled from September 23 to 25.
The State Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) Division supported the training, which brought together district immunisation and surveillance officers, data managers and data entry operators to strengthen VPD surveillance and facilitate its integration with the IDSP.
Angami stressed the importance of timely, complete and accurate surveillance data and called for stronger linkages between VPD surveillance, immunisation services, laboratory systems and outbreak response.
She said this would help transform surveillance from a reporting exercise into a public health action system.
Principal Director, HFW, Dr Keveduyi Theyo, described the transition as an important step towards strengthening government-owned disease surveillance and building a unified surveillance system.
He emphasised the need to maintain established surveillance standards, including timely reporting, quality data, specimen collection and laboratory linkages. He described the integration of VPD surveillance into the IDSP-NCDC network as a step towards a unified “One India, One Surveillance” architecture.
The training aims to strengthen district teams’ capacity to detect, investigate and report suspected VPD cases and improve coordination among surveillance, immunisation, laboratory and outbreak-response systems, according to a press release from the department.
It also aims to strengthen VPD surveillance and facilitate its integration with the IDSP.
The inaugural session began with a welcome address and opening remarks by Dr Nyanthung Kikon, State Nodal Officer (SNO), IDSP, followed by an overview of VPD surveillance and the transition process by Dr Imkongtemsu Longchar, State Immunisation Officer Universal Immunisation Programme (SIO, UIP).
