South-East Asia Regional Conference on Epidemiology

Delhi Declaration on Epidemiology –
March 2010
<strong>South</strong>-<strong>East</strong> <strong>Asia</strong> <strong>Regional</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Epidemiology | 15
We, the participants of this <strong>South</strong>-<strong>East</strong> <strong>Asia</strong> <strong>Regional</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Epidemiology appreciate the
efforts of the WHO <strong>Regional</strong> Office for <strong>South</strong>-<strong>East</strong> <strong>Asia</strong> to strengthen Public Health in the Member States
as a necessary step towards improving the health status of the people in the Region. However, we note
with concern that even as we complete the first decade of the new century, the skills of Public Health,
including those of epidemiology, are not universally available to all communities in the Region.
The health systems in the Region are facing new and complex challenges with the global financial
crisis, climate change, new and emerging diseases, as well as the rising trends in noncommunicable
diseases. Public Health in general and epidemiology in particular have a pre-eminent role in
initiating and sustaining evidence-based interventions in an endeavour to have efficient, goaloriented
public health action.
Having noted both the extent of epidemiology skills in the Region and the best-practice examples
of the role of epidemiology, we endorse the following strategies and actions and urge all Member
States, WHO and Partners to continue their efforts in providing leadership, advocacy and technical
cooperation in building partnerships between governments, professional associations as well as UN
and bilateral development agencies to jointly advocate and actively engage in follow-up on all aspects
of this Delhi Declaration on Epidemiology.
1. Promote epidemiology as a core discipline of Public Health, and as an essential tool for rational
evidence based health action and for addressing, with socio-cultural sensitivity, issues related
to equity in health with social justice;
2. Recognize the essential role of epidemiology, together with suitable laboratory back-up, in
providing evidence-based information, in partnership with health and health-related sectors and
the community, for advocacy, planning interventions, monitoring and evaluation in health;
3. Strengthen epidemiology and Public Health by creating an enabling environment and
establishing career structures at national, state, provincial and district levels. In addition
augment capacity by mandating competent background and level of expertise for persons
responsible for health of populations;
4. Emphasise the use of epidemiology for strengthening health system and primary health care;
5. Strengthen and reform Epidemiology and Public Health education, training and research in
the Region by all possible means, including establishing regional networks to enable sharing of
expertise and information, particularly through the use of modern information technology;
6. Chalk-out a time-bound roadmap for achieving these action points to ensure timely contribution
of epidemiology to the achievement of health-related MDGs, and
7. Periodically review progress in implementation of above action points