Assessment of the Supportive Function of the Surveillance System for Communicable Diseases at the Selected Sentinel Sites in Khartoum State, Sudan, in 2019–2022

This study aimed to assess the supportive functions of Communicable Diseases Surveillance System (CDSS) at the selected sentinel sites in Khartoum, Sudan. A cross-sectional descriptive facility-based study was conducted in 93 selected sentinel sites in Khartoum between the period of 2019 to 2020. Data was collected using an interview-based questionnaire and checklist. A total of 304 focal persons were interviewed (medical director, medical officers, statisticians, and lab technicians). Workers who refused to participate were executed. The data analysis revealed that most participants (26.6%) were statisticians and 78.3% were permanent employees. Nearly 45.4% have a bachelor’s degree. The CDSS manual was accessible to 45.7%. Only 28% had a manual for sample collection. One hundred and twenty-three (40.5%) cadre have received basic training in CDSS guidelines. While routine supervision visits have been conducted to 93.8% of sentinel sites, only 86% received a feedback report. Most sentinel sites (86.2%) have offices but only 22.4% and 68.8% have computers and fixed telephones respectively. The mean of transportation was available in 67.1% of the sentinels. Conclusions: Supervisory visits and feedback rates were (93%) and (86.0%) respectively which exceeded the WHO standards. The majority of other supportive functions of the surveillance system were below WHO recommendation.