Developing countries bear the highest burden of infectious diseases, and therefore play a key role in the detection of emerging disease threats. The ability of these countries to detect such events allows an adequate response preventing its spread and reducing the morbidity and mortality of communities across the world. Due to the importance of strengthening the surveillance capabilities of developing countries, resources need to be dedicated to this effort. International organizations often provide technical and financial support when countries need assistance. When implementing such systems, the countries and supporting organizations face challenges not limited to scarce resources. These countries often also face political and social instability, and cultural and religious practices that may put their populations at greater risk of these events. In addition, the disease surveillance field lacks clear guidance on how to initiate or improve the implementation process for these systems. The experiences described in the literature are often presented as partial evaluations using the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, without providing an explanation of the key factors that are related to successful or unsuccessful experiences in such settings. Public health practitioners at the ministries of health (MOH) and international organizations would greatly benefit from a model that considers these factors to serve as a guideline for a positive implementation outcome and an effective use of resources.
Objective
The panel will present successful and unsuccessful practices, challenges and lessons learned when implementing electronic surveillance tools in the developing world, and a best practices model that aims to guide and facilitate this process. Panelists and audience will discuss the validity of this model, and identify potential countries where it could be tested.