Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance (SACIDS) is a One Health consortium of Southern African academic and research institutions involved with infectious diseases of humans and animals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Tanzania. The Headquarters of SACIDS is located at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Morogoro, Tanzania. Its programme of work is funded by The Wellcome Trust, Rockefeller Foundation, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, Google Foundation and the African development Bank (AfDB).
SACIDS is convening the first EpiHack in Africa in partnership with the East African Integrated Disease Surveillance Network (EAIDSNet) of the East Africa Community, Connecting Organizations for Regional Disease Surveillance (CORDS) an international NGO based in Lyon France, Innovative Support to Emergencies Diseases and Disasters (InSTEDD) of Stanford, California and the Skoll Global Threats fund of San Francisco, California.
WHAT: EpiHack connects leading computer technologist/programmers and public plus animal health experts to join intensive hack day events to create, adapt and fine-tune digital tools for national and regional disease surveillance. EpiHack brings the crucial cross-sector, borderless issue of disease detection to Southern and East African Regions.
The objective of this technology enhancement of disease surveillance is to help six participating countries to collaborate in detecting early disease events with a potential for epidemic outbreaks in either animals or people. It is intended to strengthen national and regional early warning systems for such epidemics as Ebola. By detecting disease outbreaks faster we can keep communities healthier and safer.
WHERE: The first EpiHack in Africa will take place in Arusha, Tanzania.
WHEN: 8th -12th December 2014
For Further Information:
Yunus Karsan, at +255 732931717, yunus.karsan@sacids.org
Twitter: @sacids
YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/sacids
