Ntsoaki Motaung
To address delays in detecting and responding to health threats, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recently conducted event-based surveillance training for 3,455 community leaders and village health workers in Mohales Hoek, Butha Buthe, Qacha’s Nek, and Thaba Tseka Districts.
Event-based surveillance involves systematically collecting, monitoring, and assessing information related to events that may threaten public health.
These events could range from disease outbreaks to environmental disasters and other health-related incidents. Event-based surveillance strengthens public health preparedness and response mechanisms by proactively identifying and managing health events, enabling timely intervention and control measures.
An Intra-Action Review (IAR) conducted in 2021 revealed that the adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) surveillance system in Lesotho remain weak.
One of the reasons contributing to this weakness is inadequate knowledge among health workers on the prevention, detection, reporting, management, and investigation of adverse events following immunization.
“Establishment of an event-based surveillance system is therefore a critical step toward building a resilient public health infrastructure capable of proactive detection and management of health events. By prioritising early detection and response, this system will contribute significantly to safeguarding community well-being and reducing the impact of health emergencies,” said WHO Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Consultant, Francis Abobo.
Abobo explained that village health workers play a crucial role in event-based surveillance, as they are often the first point of contact within communities and possess valuable insights into local health dynamics.
“Their on-the-ground experiences and observations can contribute significantly to the enhancement and effectiveness of event-based surveillance systems,” he added.
Malebonyane Mahase, a field epidemiologist at the Ministry of Health, emphasised the importance of capacitating village health community workers.
“Capacitating village health community workers on community-based surveillance will assist in detecting diseases at an early stage within their communities, hence preventing the spread of diseases before they can cause a burden to our health system,” Mahase stated.
With support from WHO and its partners, event-based surveillance has been introduced in Lesotho, marking a significant step towards improving the country’s public health infrastructure and ensuring timely responses to health threats.