For the newly appointed Epidemiologists and Data Managers under the Block Public Health Units (BPHUs) of the National Health Mission (NHM), the State Mission Director has issued a revised procedure for constituting a subcommittee to finalize their roles and responsibilities.

As per the new procedure, the subcommittee comprises 15 members, including a representative from SHSRC Kerala. A meeting of the subcommittee was convened to review and discuss a draft outlining the job responsibilities of staff in BPHUs, prepared in reference to the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

The primary focus of the meeting was on the roles of Epidemiologists and Data Managers. The objectives were to: Review and understand their current responsibilities, suggest necessary modifications, additions, or transformations, and Plan a follow-up meeting for finalization of the roles

The broader aim is to ensure optimal utilization of field-level staff and to align their responsibilities with disease surveillance, data management systems, and various National Health Programmes.

Key areas of detailed discussion during the meeting included Roles and responsibilities of Epidemiologists, Roles and responsibilities of Data Managers, Strengthening the surveillance framework and Improving data integration mechanisms

The meeting involved in-depth deliberations on each of these components, and valuable suggestions and recommendations were received from the members for further refinement of the proposed responsibilities.