NITI Aayog’s mandate is to provide strategic directions to the various sectors of the Indian economy. In line with this mandate, the Health Vertical released a set of four working papers compiled in a volume entitled ‘Health Systems for New India: Building Blocks – Potential Pathways to Reform’ during November 2019. “India’s Public Health Surveillance by 2035” is a continuation of the work on Health Systems Strengthening. It contributes by suggesting mainstreaming of surveillance by making individual electronic health records the basis for surveillance.Public Health Surveillance (PHS) cuts across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of care. Surveillance is an important Public Health function. It is an essential action for disease detection, prevention, and control. Surveillance is ‘Information for Action’. This paper is a joint effort of the Health vertical, NITI Aayog, and the Institute for Global Public Health, University of Manitoba, Canada, with contributions from technical experts from the Government of India, States, and International agencies. In 2035, • India’s Public Health Surveillance will be a predictive, responsive, integrated, and tiered system of disease and health surveillance that is inclusive of Prioritised, emerging, and re-emerging communicable and non-communicable diseases and conditions. • Surveillance will be primarily based on de-identified (anonymised) individual-level patient information that emanates from health care facilities, laboratories, and other sources. • Public Health Surveillance will be governed by an adequately resourced effective administrative and technical structure and will ensure that it serves the public good. • India will provide regional and global leadership in managing events that constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Multiple disease outbreaks have prompted India to proactively respond with prevention and control measures. These actions are based on information from public health surveillance. India was able to achieve many successes in the past. Smallpox was eradicated and polio was eliminated. India has been able to reduce HIV incidence and deaths and advance and accelerate TB elimination efforts. Many outbreaks of vector-borne diseases, acute encephalitis syndromes, acute febrile illnesses, diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases have been promptly detected, identified and managed. These successes are a result of effective community-based, facility-based, and health system-based surveillance. The program response involved multiple sectors, including public and private health care systems and civil society.
Cancer ecosystem assessment in West Africa: health systems gaps to prevent and control cancers in three countries: Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal