An Innovative Approach to Surveillance Training in the African Region

Introduction Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) is a World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) strategy for strengthening national public health surveillance and response systems in African countries. The strategy incorporates the International Health Regulations (2005) core capacities for public health surveillance and response systems1. Since 2010, more than 30 countries have conducted at least one IDSR training workshop2. Limited resources preclude conducting workshops in each of the 4,500 districts in all WHO-AFRO region. One solution is to implement an electronic version for IDSR training. In collaboration with WHO-AFRO, we conducted a literature search to identify e-Learning best practices, and transformed the IDSR workshop training materials into electronic modules using measurable performance objectives, realistic examples, meaningful practices, and real time feedback to the learner. We also utilized an online learning management platform that lets course managers track learner progress and share supporting materials. The IDSR e-Learning course, available in English, French and Portuguese, aims to increase access to skills that support the prevent-detect-respond goal areas of the Global Health Security Agenda.