Disease Surveillance Department

The Disease Surveillance Department (DSD), was established to coordinate implementation of integrated disease surveillance and epidemic response activities in the country as part of efforts to strengthen disease surveillance in the country. The Department is therefore responsible for keeping surveillance on priority diseases, providing response to epidemics and disease outbreaks and rumours and initiating the process and technical support for public health intervention measures for reducing the burden of other priority diseases.

The main objective of the department is to strengthen epidemiological surveillance on priority diseases and to ensure early detection and to effectively control epidemic prone and priority endemic diseases.

The specific objectives are to:

• Improve the accuracy, completeness and timely submission of surveillance data
• Improve surveillance data analysis and utilization at all levels
• Strengthen the capacity of the sub-districts, districts and regions to respond rapidly and efficiently to surveillance reports
• Strengthen preparedness and technical capacity of health teams to predict, detect, investigate and respond to disease outbreaks
• Strengthen the capacity of communities to report the occurrence of selected priority diseases and unusual health events as well as sub-district and district staff to respond promptly to the reports from communities within their catchment areas.