ABU DHABI: The Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC) of the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi (DoH), for the first time in the Middle East, hosted a consultation on comprehensive surveillance for influenza and other respiratory viruses, a World Health Organisation event.
Being held from December 11 to 13, the event has brought together over 100 participants, including representatives from the Global Disease Prevention and Diagnostic Laboratories in 60 countries and international experts. The objective is to set and execute a global approach for the preparedness for influenza and other priority respiratory diseases with epidemic and pandemic potential.
Dr Hussain Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for the Public Health Sector, Ministry of Health and Prevention, emphasised the importance of hosting such an event to enhance global integrated surveillance for influenza and other respiratory viruses and boost health systems readiness to deal with them. He stressed that this session comes in line with the health sector’s ongoing efforts to prioritise prevention and safeguard public health, recognising it as a national imperative to improve the quality of life and well-being.
Some 250,000 to 500,000 deaths annually are associated with respiratory diseases from seasonal influenza, he told the Emirates News Agency (WAM).
In collaboration with WHO, and with support from the Ministry of Health and Prevention, this initiative aligns with Abu Dhabi’s healthcare sector’s strategy aiming to enhance surveillance systems and their readiness for dealing with emerging respiratory diseases. The continuous improvement in dealing with such diseases is crucial, given that influenza is a prevalent respiratory ailment posing a significant challenge to community health, with impacts spanning across various sectors.
The results derived from the consultation contribute to enhancing a shared understanding of global health challenges and promoting international cooperation in the field of infectious disease control. They further establish the UAE’s role as a leader in health innovation and tackling global health challenge.
The organisers said this hosting will enable the utilisation of global experiences and expertise in public health, fostering international collaboration to build networks dedicated to combating infectious diseases. It aims to discover the latest strategies for preventing the spread of influenza. Furthermore, its outcomes will contribute to updating surveillance practices, and developing the integrated Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS), thereby enhancing the capacity to address global health challenges & strengthen mechanisms for GISRS to coordinate with non-sentinel surveillance and response systems for early detection, monitoring activity and informed use of public health measures in a future pandemic or epidemic.
