WHO Country Office for Nepal, in collaboration with the Family Welfare Division (FWD), Department of Health Services (DoHS), Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), successfully organized the National Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop on Vaccine-Preventable Disease (VPD) surveillance and outbreak response from 23–26 March 2026 in Kathmandu.
The training brought together 26 senior pediatricians and consultant medical doctors nominated by provincial ministries. The training equipped trainees to serve as master trainers for VPD case investigation and outbreak management. The training was facilitated by Chair of National Certification Committee for Poliomyelitis Eradication (NCCPE) and National Verification Committee for Measles Rubella Elimination (NVCMRE), President of Nepal Pediatric Society (NEPAS), members of Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI), members of VPD surveillance Technical Working Group (TWG) and senior subject experts from WHO program for Immunization and vaccine-preventable disease (IVD). The event was chaired by the Additional Secretary of Health, MoHP, and attended by senior officials from the FWD, National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL), Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD) and National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL).
The training aimed to establish a provincial cadre of master trainers to train municipal-nominated VPD investigating medical officers (VIMO). Participants were trained on VPD case notification, investigation, sample collection and shipment, outbreak preparedness, and data management aligned with WHO VPD surveillance performance indicators. Tabletop exercises simulated surveillance processes, including notification, investigation, sample collection and case follow-up. Group discussions addressed surveillance challenges and strategies to close gaps, ensuring trainers are prepared to guide municipal-level VPD investigating medical officers (VIMOs) and support provincial ministries in surveillance resource allocation and policy decisions.
Master trainers will play a critical role in guiding VIMOs in case investigation, sample collection, follow-up and data quality assurance. The master trainers will review provincial surveillance performance to provide technical guidance to provincial ministries and support Nepal’s commitments to sustaining polio-free status, accelerating measles-rubella elimination, controlling Japanese encephalitis, and maintaining maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination. In addition, they will engage provincial stakeholders and serve as technical experts providing strategic guidance to provincial ministries on VPD surveillance.
This workshop represents a cornerstone in Nepal’s VPD Transition Plan, reinforcing provincial ownership of VPD surveillance and outbreak response. WHO will continue to monitor progress, including training coverage, VPD cases investigated by VIMOs, timely outbreak investigation and response, and resource mobilization for sustained surveillance activities at the subnational level.
Through this initiative, Nepal is building a resilient surveillance workforce to safeguard communities against vaccine-preventable diseases and accelerate progress towards national disease control, elimination and eradication goals.