73 Surveillance Systems

Surveillance systems are essential for public health surveillance, monitoring and tracking diseases, and implementing timely interventions for controlling infectious diseases (World Health Organization 2023). An integrated approach, where surveillance systems collect data from the human, animal, and environmental health sectors, has shown promise in developing a broader picture of emerging threats (World Health Organization 2023). Timely disease surveillance is critical for setting up early warning systems, enabling rapid intervention, and allocating resources for controlling infectious diseases especially zoonoses (World Health Organization 2023). However, their effectiveness has been challenged by many issues, including poor reporting, lack of coordination across sectors, and inequalities in access to care, particularly in low-resource settings (Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases 2016). Additionally, weak global collaboration combined with vague or underdeveloped data-sharing frameworks may delay responses and allow outbreaks to escalate before containment is possible (World Health Organization 2023). Improved data integration, increased investment in modern diagnostic technologies, and more comprehensive training for healthcare workers can help strengthen these surveillance networks (Rothstein et al. 2021). To enhance public health preparedness for zoonotic threats, a more interconnected, transparent, and globally coordinated approach is essential (World Health Organization 2023). (E.B)