We engage in disease surveillance to help countries build stronger, more coherent, and more responsive systems. Decentralized structures, fragmented data flows, and gaps in real-time reporting weaken the ability to detect threats early. Limited laboratory capacity, insufficient cross-sectoral coordination, and underutilized digital tools further slow public health action. We support countries in advancing integrated, multisectoral, and technology-enabled surveillance solutions that strengthen preparedness, detection, and response capabilities.

• Assessing Threats Facing Countries: Conducting evaluations that inform evidence-based interventions and strengthen national surveillance structures.
• Supporting Integrated Surveillance: Strengthening event-based surveillance (EBS), indicator-based surveillance (IBS), One Health surveillance, and community participation in early detection.
• Enhancing Laboratory Capacity: Expanding diagnostic capabilities and laboratory networks to support timely detection.
• Digitizing Surveillance Systems: Enhancing data accuracy, timeliness, and reporting through digital platforms.
• Supporting Surveillance for NCDs: Extending surveillance to noncommunicable diseases to inform policy and strategic planning.
• Strengthening Cross-Border and Regional Collaboration: Facilitating coordinated responses to transboundary and regional health threats.

We deliver a wide-ranging portfolio of efforts that reinforce national and regional surveillance capacities across infectious and noncommunicable diseases:

• Integrated Surveillance:

• Digitalization of Surveillance Systems
• In Bangladesh, we supported Bangladesh’s IEDCR in enhancing its Web-Based Disease Surveillance System (WBDSS) by strengthening technology, data management, and staff training at the subdistrict level.
• In Jordan, we assisted the Jordan Ministry of Health in digitizing existing mother and child healthcare records, creating a registry that is fully synchronized and interoperable with the Ministry’s information system.
• In Iraq, we supported the Iraq Ministry of Health in strengthening preparedness and response capacities for the Arba’een Mass Gathering (MG). This collaboration has led to the development of an enhanced and effective real-time syndromic surveillance system.
• In Afghanistan, we supported the implementation of an access-based EPI database, integrating it with the Health Information Management and Information System (HIMIS), and transitioning to an online system for real-time data access and analysis.

• Building Capacities for Stronger Surveillance Systems

• Strengthening maternal and child health surveillance

We support national and refugee-camp settings in strengthening maternal and neonatal surveillance systems in Jordan. Key contributions include:

• Supporting the establishment and implementation of the national JMMSR system, enabling Jordan to systematically track maternal deaths and identify contributing factors to inform future prevention efforts.
• Conducting neonatal mortality audits in collaboration with UNHCR to identify causes of neonatal deaths in refugee settings and recommend community-based and system-level solutions to reduce avoidable mortality.
• Developing and rolling out the digital hRHR across 19 health facilities, digitizing maternal and child health records and enhancing continuity of care, data quality, and coordination among providers and community partners.

• Surveillance and Data Assessments and Reviews

We support countries, such as Iraq, Pakistan, Morocco, and Sudan, in strengthening the quality, accuracy, and use of surveillance data through targeted reviews and analytical assessments. These efforts help countries diagnose gaps, refine systems, and improve decision-making for public health action.

• Multi-Country Collaborations in Surveillance

We support multisectoral and cross-border surveillance efforts that strengthen coordination, detection, and response capacities across countries. These collaborations help address transboundary diseases and enhance regional preparedness, such as:

• Building multisectoral and cross-border networks for the surveillance, detection, and response of potentially weaponizable pathogens in Libya and Tunisia.
  
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• Establishing the Invasive Bacterial Disease surveillance network in Africa, Middle East, and Eurasia: Meningitis and Septicemia Mapping Network (MENMAP) in Egypt, Iraq and Jordan.
  
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• Logistic Support for Enhanced Disease Detection

We strengthen disease detection capacity by providing comprehensive logistical support and essential equipment to Central Public Health Laboratories across multiple countries. This support has included:

• Supplying modern laboratory equipment to improve diagnostic infrastructure.
• Integrating inventory management software to enhance tracking, maintenance, and reliability of laboratory supplies.

Countries benefitting from this support include Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan.

• NCDs Surveillance

In collaboration with USCDC and the International Association of Public Health Institutes, EMPHNET led the Noncommunicable Disease Capacity Assessment and Planning (N-CAP) Process. The N-CAP tool helps ministries of health and diverse stakeholders assess, prioritize, and plan strategies to enhance NCD surveillance, monitoring, and intervention.

Through the N-CAP process, We worked closely with countries such as Jordan and Pakistan to build stronger national capacities for NCD surveillance systems and support more effective responses to the region’s NCD epidemic.

Read More: Addressing emerging public health threats: the Noncommunicable Disease Capacity Assessment and Planning (N-CAP) Process