The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) has launched the third edition of the National Technical Guidelines for Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response.

The guidelines aim to build capacities for early detection, confirmation, and response to public health threats to prevent unnecessary illness, death, and disability.

The guidelines will assist in detecting communicable and non-communicable diseases, toxic foods, and the ability to report timely, respond, and evaluate.

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, says the guidelines are in response to an increase in emerging and re-emerging epidemic-prone diseases and other public health emergencies.

"To prioritise diseases, conditions, public health events, and responding to alerts. Using these action thresholds effectively has many benefits. It can be lifesaving and prevent suffering. It can also help prevent health systems from becoming overwhelmed and unable to cope with disease outbreaks and health emergencies. This is because the thresholds for action, explicitly describe what needs to be established at each level of the health system to timely detect, confirm, and respond to diseases, conditions, and health events that are responsible for preventable illnesses, disabilities, and deaths in our communities."

Dr. Shangula says the guidelines should be used to improve laboratory network capacity in surveillance and response as well as improve community engagement in public health interventions.

To date, the World Health Organisation has supported the Ministry of Health with N$1.6 million in training for 182 healthcare