Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) is a comprehensive public health strategy and system designed to monitor, detect, report, and respond to various diseases and health events in a coordinated and integrated manner.

It aims to enhance early detection and timely response to outbreaks and health threats, ultimately improving public health outcomes. IDSR was developed in response to the need for a more efficient and effective system for disease surveillance and response, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. It was officially launched by the World Health Assembly in 1998 as a global strategy to strengthen disease surveillance and response systems. The approach gained momentum in the early 2000s, with many countries, including Somalia, adopting and implementing it. Since its launch, three editions of the IDSR technical guidelines have been developed by the World Health Organization (1st edition in 2000, 2nd edition in 2010, and 3rd edition in 2019).

The third edition of the IDSR guidelines was designed to align with the International Health Regulations (IHR) and to address evolving challenges in disease surveillance and response. These guidelines aim to improve the understanding of professionals across relevant sectors regarding the structure, functioning, methods, and mechanisms that form the foundation of disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and response from a human health perspective.

The updated guidelines, adapted from WHO AFRO, provide recommended thresholds for action on priority diseases, public health events, and conditions. They also incorporate community-based surveillance and event-based surveillance, which are critical components of early warning systems.

In Somalia, the Ministry of Health has initiated the rollout of the updated IDSR guidelines, taking into account key measures to strengthen surveillance systems at the community level. The guidelines have been disseminated across multiple regions of the country, creating the need for post-training follow-up and supportive supervision to assess and ensure effective implementation.