WHO: Indonesia Strengthens Outbreak Detection and Response
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30 August 2024 12:05 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ministry of Health (MoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have concluded a series of comprehensive trainings aimed at enhancing the country's ability to rapidly detect and respond to outbreaks of emerging and epidemic-prone diseases, the WHO said in a statement today.
This initiative, held between 12 July and 16 August 2024, brought together 120 members from 24 Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) across provinces in Java. Indonesia's health infrastructure is supported by 514 RRTs stationed across the nation's districts.
"RRTs are the backbone of Indonesia’s health security and resilience," stated Dr. Achmad Farchanny Tri Adryanto, Director of Surveillance and Health Quarantine at MoH. "They have been critical to national and subnational efforts to detect and respond to EIDs, such as COVID-19 and mpox, as well as epidemic-prone diseases like dengue fever and measles."
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) pose a considerable threat as they appear in populations for the first time or show a significant increase in incidence or geographic range. These epidemic-prone diseases can spread rapidly in specific regions. Indonesia's Early Warning Alert and Response System (EWARS) currently monitors 24 such diseases, including malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, and measles.
These teams are pivotal in early detection, signal verification, field epidemiology investigations, rapid risk assessments, and executing comprehensive outbreak responses. Each team is multidisciplinary, comprising clinicians, epidemiologists, surveillance officers, laboratory technicians, and other specialized professionals, ensuring a well-rounded approach to managing health crises.
The training curriculum, adapted from the WHO global RRT Training Programme, covered a wide range of topics crucial for health crisis management. These included preparedness for emerging infectious diseases, early detection and response strategies, EID case management, infection prevention and control, risk communication, sample collection, and the operational deployment of RRTs. Practical exercises provided hands-on experience in early detection, field investigation, patient referral, case management, and the correct use of personal protective equipment.
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