It is very important that every country has surveillance to detect, prevent, and respond quickly to public health problemsJakarta (ANTARA) - An integrated surveillance system could serve as a means for all countries to deal with public health crises, Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said.
"It is very important that every country has surveillance to detect, prevent, and respond quickly to public health problems," he observed at the opening of the “International Workshop on Emerging Diseases,” which was followed on the RSPI’s Youtube channel from here on Tuesday.
Integrated surveillance can also help detect, prevent, and respond quickly to COVID-19 transmission, he added.
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There are a number of strategies for building an integrated surveillance system, including the development of genome sequencing capabilities through cross-country collaboration and communication.
The minister said the workshop would provide an example of how communication and cooperation related to surveillance should be established.
"Need to work together to show this to the global public. We can't do this alone. This needs to be done together, it can't be exclusive. We can't do this as a specific country program but (need to) involve everyone in every country," he remarked.
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The next step is the need to invest in health professionals.
Minister Sadikin underlined that the quality of health workers is very important, especially for managing infectious diseases that arise in locations with very limited resources.
Hence, good cooperation is necessary so that various resources available around the world can be used to handle health problems.
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Translator: Katriana
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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