The Ministry of Public Health and Prevention in Chad launched a training workshop on Wednesday, April 16, 2026, at the Centre d’Études et de Formation pour le Développement (CEFOD) to strengthen epidemic detection and notification systems. The session focuses on improving the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) framework, with an emphasis on case detection, proper sample handling, and real-time data transmission to enable faster public health responses.
Officials highlighted persistent gaps in the country’s surveillance system despite its weekly monitoring of 22 diseases and health events, including poliomyelitis, malaria, and maternal deaths. Narassem Mbaïdoum, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Public Health, cited findings from an external review conducted in February 2024, which revealed significant underreporting. Of 203 vaccine-preventable disease cases identified by experts, 78 cases of acute flaccid paralysis and 86 cases of measles were not reported through the national system.
“These delays and under-notifications weaken our ability to react effectively,” Mbaïdoum said during the workshop. She urged coordinated action among health workers, describing them as “sentinels of our health system” and calling for collective efforts to improve the quality and timeliness of disease reporting.
The workshop aims to address systemic shortcomings by enhancing frontline capacity in surveillance practices, particularly in sample collection, storage, and transport to laboratories, as well as ensuring timely data flow for outbreak response. Strengthening these functions is seen as critical to improving Chad’s readiness to detect and contain infectious disease threats.
