Port Health Staff Undergo Training On Event-Based Surveillance At Points Of Entry
The Ghana Health Service, in collaboration with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has organised a two-day training workshop on Event-Based Surveillance (EBS) at Points of Entry for Port Health staff nationwide.
The training aimed to strengthen the capacity of officers to promptly detect, verify, assess, and report public health events of concern.
Speaking at the workshop, the Director of the Public Health Division, Dr Franklin Aseidu-Bekoe, highlighted the growing need to scale up Event-Based Surveillance, particularly at Points of Entry, as a complementary approach to the existing indicator-based surveillance systems.
He noted that EBS focuses on the rapid identification, reporting, and assessment of unusual health events and signals from both formal and informal sources, making it a critical tool for early detection and response.
Dr Aseidu-Bekoe emphasised the importance of collaboration, stressing that effective EBS depends on strong coordination not only within the health sector but also with key agencies such as the Ghana Immigration Service, Customs officials, and other stakeholders operating at Points of Entry.
He urged participants to work towards building a stronger and more responsive Port Health system to enhance Ghana’s overall public health preparedness and response capacity.
Also addressing participants, Dr Danielle Barradas, CDC Country Director, reaffirmed CDC’s continued support for Ghana’s public health systems.
She mentioned that in an era of global travel, diseases can spread across borders within hours, making border health security and surveillance at Points of Entry increasingly critical.
Dr Barradas described the training as timely and relevant and encouraged participants to actively engage, apply the skills acquired at their duty stations, and ensure that learning continues beyond the workshop.
She further noted that public health professionals must regularly assess their preparedness and response capacities, highlighting the importance of simulation exercises.
According to her, such exercises help test existing systems, identify gaps, and strengthen readiness for real-world public health events.
During the training, participants were taken through the processes of reporting and managing EBS data using the SORMAS app.
The sessions aimed to help participants understand Ghana’s EBS information management system, familiarise them with the SORMAS Event Interface, and build their capacity to effectively document EBS activities on the platform.
The EBS training, which aligns with the International Health Regulations (2005), is particularly important at Points of Entry due to the high volume of cross-border movement, the risk of disease importation, and other public health threats.
Port Health staff play a pivotal role in detecting unusual occurrences that may signal potential public health emergencies, making their preparedness essential to national and global health security.
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