Monrovia, 28th July, 2015:- The Disease Prevention and Control (DPC) Division of the Ministry of Health of Liberia convened a 3-day stakeholders’ meeting to share, harmonize and map partners’ planned support for epidemic preparedness, disease surveillance and response - one of the key areas of the strategic health investment plan for building a resilient health system and strengthening health security for the Liberian people.

In his opening remarks, Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Francis Kateh appreciated the contribution of health partners and stakeholders to the building of a resilient health system. He noted that one of the key aspects in building a resilient health system is to work toward tangible goals.

Dr Emmanuel Musa, the Deputy WHO Country Representative said that the meeting was a timely and remarkable step towards strengthening national capacity for epidemic preparedness, surveillance, and response adding that action needs to be taken at every level with defined roles and responsibilities.

Co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Emory University and the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), the meeting was attended by over 35 participants representing national and international stakeholders, government officials, technical and donor partner agencies, academic institutions, and non-governmental sectors.

The significant outcome of the meeting was a comprehensive roadmap intended to strengthen epidemic preparedness, surveillance and response system which is a strategic area of the Investment Plan. The roadmap will guide   planning by different stakeholders; align efforts to priority investment areas; and elaborate tasks by specific domain.  At the same time, the road map spells out actions for implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) core capacities and Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) including a set of actionable recommendations for consideration by Ministry of Health, other governmental organizations and partners in training and education, disease surveillance, emergency preparedness and response.

WHO as the lead technical advisor to the Ministry of Health, committed to supporting epidemiological surveillance and workforce capacity building; supporting Disease Prevention and Control Unit, improving epidemiology, surveillance and workforce capacity and laboratory capacity, and the development of a  new Disease Surveillance Information System. Other Partners supporting epidemiology and surveillance include United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the European Commission for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO).

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For more information, please contact:

Dr Esther Hamblion , Email:  estherhamblion [at] hotmail.com ( estherhamblion[at]hotmail[dot]comt)

Luwaga Liliane, Email:  luwagal [at] who.int ( luwagal[at]who[dot]int)