Evaluation of Influenza Surveillance System in Ethiopia Reveals Shortfalls in Acceptability and Sustainability

Strategic Insights -

The World Health Organization recommends periodic evaluation of influenza surveillance systems to assess their performance, identify shortfalls, and provide evidence for policymaking and public health interventions. However, research from the Ethiopian Public Health Institute found that the existing surveillance system in Ethiopia lacks data on the performance of the system after the integration of other respiratory viruses. The study evaluated 20 influenza-like illness (ILI) / severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) sentinel sites from January 2021 to December 2023, using ten surveillance attributes and a structured evaluation tool with 57 indicators.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Ethiopian Public Health Institute evaluated the sentinel surveillance system for ILI/SARI in Ethiopia from January 2021 to December 2023, using CDC guidelines and a structured evaluation tool with 57 indicators.
  • The overall mean score of the attribute was scored from 1 to 3 and categorized as follows: 1 (Low), 2 (Moderate), and 3 (High).
  • The study found that the acceptability and sustainability of the surveillance system require further attention to enhance the overall effectiveness of ILI/SARI sentinel surveillance in the country.
  • The researchers evaluated the performance of the system using ten surveillance attributes: data quality and completeness, timeliness, representativeness, simplicity, acceptability, utility, flexibility, stability, sustainability, and sensitivity.
  • The study concluded that the integration of other respiratory viruses into the existing influenza sentinel surveillance system in Ethiopia has led to a lack of data on the performance of the system.

Statistics:

  • The study evaluated 20 ILI/SARI sentinel sites from January 2021 to December 2023.
  • The overall mean score of the attribute was scored from 1 to 3 and categorized as follows: 1 (Low), 2 (Moderate), and 3 (High).
  • The researchers used a structured evaluation tool with 57 indicators.
  • The study found that the acceptability and sustainability of the surveillance system require further attention to enhance the overall effectiveness of ILI/SARI sentinel surveillance in the country.

Sources:

  • "Evaluation of the sentinel surveillance system for influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infection in Ethiopia during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021-2023." BMC Health Services Research, 2025;25(1):759.
  • BioMed Central (www.biomedcentral.com/).
  • BMC Health Services Research (www.biomedcentral.com/bmchealthservres/).