Glossary Term: Surveillance

An ongoing, systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health-related data essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice.



Using the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Public health surveillance page, the Coalition defines evaluation as
“an ongoing, systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health-related data essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice.” Listed under “health topics,” this page briefly describes public health surveillance and its essential role in effective disease control programs. While the WHO website was updated and reconfigured, this page is still accessible via the Wayback Machine link provided.

“WHO EMRO | Public Health Surveillance | Health Topics,” May 31, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220531064723/http://www.emro.who.int/health-topics/public-health-surveillance/index.html.


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