Saturday, 01 January 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
In an attempt to detect, prevent and respond to infectious and disaster-borne diseases in Uttarakhand, the state health department has decided to establish a Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC).
This centre would be set up by the department in collaboration with National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, Government of India, the U S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).
The health secretary Pankaj Kumar Pandey said this during a meeting of the department with the officials of NCDC and CDC, India office. Pandey emphasised that Uttarakhand state has always remained vulnerable to various kinds of natural calamities like landslides, floods and earthquakes. These calamities may cause various kinds of public health emergencies of concern like epidemic prone infectious diseases, water-borne, and vector-borne diseases, he said. He added that the health workers working on the front line in the state and community would also be trained in Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM).
Disaster Management secretary SA Murugesan said that the State Disaster Management Authority would provide cooperation in setting up the PHEOC and in providing training on PHEM to the community.
The director of National Center for Disease Control, Delhi (Government of India) Dr Sujeet Singh and Dr Rajeev Sharma of U S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention assured to provide support in establishment, technical handholding, capacity building for the PHEOC and PHEM related capacity building in the state.
The meeting was also attended by the director general of state health services, Dr Tripti Bahuguna, the officer in charge Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) Dr Pankaj Singh, and Dr Mahendra Pant from HNB Medical University.
