EL SALVADOR
El Salvador has a strong health system with improved capabilities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is an important need to strengthen current surveillance abilities in staff to respond to, especially to other emerging diseases. The improved expertise of the epidemiology staff will increase the preparedness of the country for any new global health threat.
SIERRA LEONE
Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases pose serious risks to animal and human health in Sierra Leone, and Sierra Leone’s socioeconomic and ecological attributes particularly render it susceptible to zoonotic diseases like Lassa Fever, Ebola virus disease, Rabies, Anthrax, and the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019. The Global Health Security Surveillance project aims to improve Sierra Leone’s capacity to prevent, detect, respond to, control, and mitigate infectious diseases and other global health threats.
The project has contributed to:
- An assessment of Sierra Leone’s capacity to implement coordinated surveillance and information sharing systems for zoonotic diseases.
- Identifying gaps in the coordinated surveillance system, prioritizing actions, and formulating a development plan will help the country advance its capacity for a resilient, coordinated surveillance and information-sharing system to prevent, detect, and respond to zoonotic public health threats efficiently and effectively and guide collaboration among relevant stakeholders for resource mobilization and implementation of priority actions to strengthen the coordinated SIS system in Sierra Leone.
