Outbreak Timeliness Measures in the Mekong Basin Region studies five years of historical outbreak data (2010–2014) for 15 prioritized diseases from different disease reporting systems in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Measurements will be stratified by disease, country, and border regions. This analysis will inform approaches to improving disease surveillance in the region and help to better target limited resources where they will be most impactful.
The Outbreak Timeliness Measures in the Mekong Basin Region project helps Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam establish their own time-to-detection baseline. Through this baseline the countries can learn whether changes to reporting policies, implementation of the IHR core competencies, use of novel disease reporting systems, or increased investments in disease surveillance have improved their speed of detection and response capabilities. These countries’ Ministries of Health can also use this baseline to assess progress to date and identify programmatic or geographic gaps that can inform resource allocation and strategic planning. Governments, NGOs, and philanthropies can use the measurements emerging from this project to better understand which investments have the biggest impact in the area of rapid detection and response and can share these learnings to ensure efficient use of limited funds.