Project for Strengthening the Services of the Pacific Public Health Surveillance Network (PPHSN)
The key objective of the meeting is to update the Project Steering Committee of the recent developments in project implementation and to make recommendations about the services and initiatives to the PPHSN Coordinating Body.
The Pacific Health Information Network (PHIN) was established at the Health Metrics Network (HMN) meeting in Noumea in 2006. Since then, various workshops and meetings have been held across the Pacific region. PHIN was created to provide a mechanism for networking, support, information sharing and training for people working as health information professionals in the region. The PHIN Executive Board is interested in assessing the network's role, impact and sustainability in strengthening health information systems (HIS) in the Pacific.
A sub-regional training workshop for health surveillance and laboratory professionals aiming at strengthening influenza surveillance in the Pacific was held in Suva (Fiji) last week.Surveillance and laboratory professionals from thirteen Pacific countries, together with regional experts, reviewed existing national systems, identified challenges and discussed ways to strengthen the syndromic and virological surveillance of influenza.
Experts in Pacific human, animal and environmental health, along with partners from across the region, discussed ways to coordinate their efforts to better address regional and national health risks during a One Health Consultative workshop in Fiji.
I recently attended a meeting of an international expert group convened by WHO in Geneva to assess progress being made by the global community in taking actions to reduce the impact of NCDs following high level meetings sponsored by the UN General Assembly in 2014 and 2011. These discussions are taking place in anticipation of the third high-level meeting at UNGA in 2018.
The impetus is accelerated by the planned meeting to be held in Montevideo, Uruguay on enhancing policy coherence to prevent and control NCDs to be hosted by the President of Uruguay.
