NAHARLAGUN, 11 Jul: A two-day state-level workshop on vaccine preventable diseases (VPD), being held under the aegis of the National Health Mission (NHM), got underway here on Friday.
The workshop is aimed at strengthening surveillance mechanisms for VPDs and integrating reporting for ARI, HRI, One Health, NP-NCD, and NPHCE.
This initiative has brought together District Reproductive and Child Health Officers, District Surveillance Officers, and district epidemiologists from across the state to build capacity and foster convergence of vertical programmes through a unified surveillance platform.
“The workshop is being conducted against the backdrop of the Government of India’s strategic transition of VPD surveillance, currently supported by the WHO, from two sentinel sites in Arunachal Pradesh into a district-wide surveillance system under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). This national transition is targeted to be achieved by 2027,” the Health Services Directorate informed in a release.
The workshop aims to break silos and promote integration between the immunization division and the surveillance division. The sessions are being jointly conducted by the State Surveillance Unit, State NCD Cell, One Health Cell, and Climate Change & Human Health Cell, in collaboration with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Key areas of focus in the workshop includestrengthening fever with rash surveillance; DPT and AFP surveillance; refresher training in standard case definitions, outbreak response, reporting responsibilities, and monitoring and supervision; introduction and training on the VSIMS portal; enhancing reporting and response mechanisms for acute respiratory infections and heat-related illnesses; increasing NCD screening coverage and portal data management; and improving rabies prophylaxis and reporting of animal bite cases under the One Health approach.
A total of 67 district-level public health professionals are participating in the workshop. Eminent public health experts are serving as resource persons, including
NCDC Joint Director Dr Sanket Kulkarni, WHO SMO Dr Ranadeep Saha, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa, State Immunization Officer Dr Dimong Padung, and NP-NCD consultant Dr Bomto Riram.
Addressing the inaugural session, Dr Kulkarni explained the roles and responsibilities all the health workers in the state, while Health Services Director (i/c) Dr Komling Perme called upon the participants to actively apply their learnings and reinforce field-level surveillance upon returning to their respective districts. He also highlighted the importance of integrating surveillance with national campaigns such as Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan.
State nodal officer for hepatitis, Dr Nabam Budh briefed the participants on upcoming plans for Hepatitis B vaccination for frontline health workers.
“This workshop marks a pivotal step in building a resilient and integrated disease surveillance system in Arunachal Pradesh. By training district health officials across vertical programmes, the state aims to ensure early detection and timely response to outbreaks, enhance NCD screening, and improve reporting on climate-sensitive and zoonotic diseases,” the release said.
