Joint Effort by MOH and WHO: Training Boosts Disease Surveillance in Four Kenyan Counties

This week, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with WHO conducted training sessions to cascade Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) based on the 3rd Generation IDSR Technical Guidelines for Kajiado, Migori, Kisumu, and Busia counties. Over 200 healthcare workers at the Sub County Health Managers level attended this crucial training.

 This initiative is a part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Public Health Emergency Response, encompassing cross-border surveillance. These four counties have previously reported cholera outbreaks and have been identified as El-Nino/Flood-prone areas, increasing the likelihood of numerous water-borne and vector-borne disease outbreaks.

 The expected outcome of this training is an increased number of skilled and competent staff at decentralized levels. This translates to early detection of outbreaks, improved reporting of priority diseases and public health events, timely responses to such events, and ultimately, a reduction in morbidity and mortality resulting from these diseases and other potential public health emergencies.