The JMIR Public Health and Surveillance article An Electronic Disease Early Warning System in Sana’a Governorate, Yemen: Evaluation Study assesses the usefulness and performance of Yemen’s electronic Disease Early Warning System (eDEWS). Conducted in Sana’a governorate in 2016, the evaluation used CDC surveillance-system guidelines and examined simplicity, flexibility, acceptability, representativeness, timeliness, completeness and stability.
Key Insights
Overall eDEWS performance was rated good at 86%, while its usefulness scored 83%.
Representativeness received the highest score at 100%, with the system covering both public and private health facilities.
Reporting completeness and timeliness both reached 100%, supporting rapid detection and response to disease outbreaks.
Flexibility was rated excellent at 91%, meaning the system could integrate new diseases, information and other surveillance programmes.
Stability was the weakest area at 70%, mainly because of donor dependence, network problems in remote areas and insufficient maintenance resources.
Figure 1 on page 3 shows the reporting flow from health facilities through districts and governorates to the central eDEWS system, with weekly electronic reporting and feedback.
The authors recommend regular feedback to health facilities, stronger government financial support and further evaluation following expansion of the system.
