IN: Integrated Disease Surveillance Project

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The development objective of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project is to improve the information available to government health services, and private health care providers, on a set of high-priority diseases, and risk factors, with a view to improving the grassroots responses to such diseases, and risk factors. The project four components will: 1) establish and operate a central-level disease surveillance unit, under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) to help coordinate, and decentralize disease surveillance activities, and, thus complement the states' disease surveillance efforts. This component will address constraints due to lack of coordination, and update diseases' incidence, through appropriate processes, and institutional arrangements at the central level; 2) integrate and strengthen disease surveillance at the state and district levels, addressing coordination constraints at the sub-national levels, the limited use of modern technology and data management techniques, and, the need to include stakeholder participation, including communities' involvement, and the private sector; 3) improve laboratory support, upgrading laboratories at the state level, to improve laboratory surveillance activities. Support includes diagnosis, monitoring drug resistance, and changes in disease agents. In addition, a quality assurance system for assessing, and improving the quality of laboratory data will be introduced; and, 4) provide training for disease surveillance and action, to support the changes envisaged under the first three components, a coordinated training effort to reorient health staff towards an integrated surveillance system, and provide the new skills needed. Training programs will include representatives from the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and community groups.