Ministry of Health, Africa CDC Strengthen Event-Based Surveillance Capacity to Bolster Epidemic Intelligence in The Gambia. By Raymond Enoch

The Ministry of Health, Tge Gambia has taken a decisive step toward enhancing national preparedness against public health threats with a two-day capacity-building workshop on Event-Based Surveillance (EBS), held December 1st and 2nd, 2025.

The training, organized through the Epidemiology and Disease Control Unit, received technical support from the Africa CDC and targeted the operational efficiency of the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) and Call Centre personnel.

The workshop brought together more than 20 participants drawn from key departments across the Ministry. The sessions focused on improving real-time monitoring, detection, verification, and reporting of unusual health events — a critical need in the face of emerging and re-emerging disease outbreaks.

Event-Based Surveillance, a vital component of early warning systems, helps authorities rapidly identify signals from community reports, media sources, health facilities, and informal networks that may indicate potential public health emergencies. Strengthening this capacity, experts noted, is central to reducing response time and preventing local incidents from escalating into widespread epidemics.

The training underscores the Ministry’s continued commitment to the Global Health Security Agenda, with renewed focus on epidemic intelligence and inter-agency coordination. By improving frontline expertise, officials say the country is better positioned to establish robust early warning mechanisms and support decisive action when public health threats emerge.

Participants expressed readiness to deploy the skills acquired, emphasizing that improved detection, structured reporting channels, and strong institutional collaboration will play a key role in safeguarding national health security.