Communicable diseases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region prevention and control 2010-2011

Abstract

Communicable diseases are among the major causes of mortality and morbidity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Among the challenges to controlling these diseases, foremost is the inadequate structure, technical and managerial capacity of the immunization programmes in some countries, resulting in the inability to meet control, elimination and eradication targets. In terms of malaria control, challenges include low coverage of malaria diagnostic facilities, weak malaria surveillance and limited capacity for monitoring, prevention and management of insecticide resistance and for the sound management of public health pesticides. For tuberculosis control, identifying missed cases, improving case detection rates, strengthening national reference laboratories and treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and tuberculosis-HIV co-infection are challenges. Insufficient or unreliable information, low national commitment and domestic investment in HIV programmes and inadequate delivery of prevention, care and treatment services are challenges faced by programmes working on HIV/AIDS in the Region. Future directions for communicable disease control in the Region include strengthening national surveillance and response capabilities, legislation and bio-risk and quality management in laboratories in line with requirements of the International Health Regulations. Strengthening the regional surveillance networks in order to generate data necessary on new vaccines introduction is another important step. Tuberculosis notification and case detection rates can be improved through scaling up related collaboration between the public and private sectors, conducting active case finding among high-risk groups including people living with HIV/AIDS, strengthening the laboratory network and implementing new diagnostics. Policies need to be revised for HIV testing and service delivery models developed