The Health Ministry recently collaborated with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to host a training workshop on the surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, and Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication.

The Ministry says the workshop was a capacity-building exercise for healthcare professionals, aimed at strengthening surveillance and response efforts in relation to VPDs, which is of critical importance due to a resurgence of illnesses such as measles, polio and mpox in the international domain.

The in-person training was conducted over a three day period from August 21st to 24th at the Hilton Hotel.

It was facilitated by the CDC, the Expanded Programme on Immunization, the Epidemiology Unit and representatives from the CDC’s Global Immunization Division.

Healthcare professionals from the Tobago Regional Health Authority will also benefit from the workshop, which is taking place from August 26th to 28th and also explores pertinent topics on VPD surveillance and CERC strategies in the context of Tobago.