4 August 2022 - In response to the ongoing measles outbreak in north-west Syria (NWS), the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and its Gaziantep Field Office in Türkiye organized a measles surveillance and outbreak response workshop joined by 35 participants from WHO’s surveillance and immunization operational partners -- the Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) and the Syrian Immunization Group (SIG).
The three-day training was conducted by WHO’s Regional Office and WHO Gaziantep’s surveillance team, supported by the immunization team. Nine participants joined from NWS so that they could then relay and share the information gained from the training with the medical community and health care workers there.
The training covered measles infection, prevention and control, case management, community engagement and enhanced surveillance -- with a special focus on surveillance reporting quality -- and included a case study which trainees engaged with over the course of the three days.
Prior to the workshop, WHO and partners had identified a need to increase capacity-building activities in the field for responding to measles surveillance and outbreaks in NWS.
For more information, please contact:
Grattan Lynch, Communications Officer
E-mail: