The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Nutrition has established a formalized channel for citizens to report potential public health threats through a confidential hotline service. Operational on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., the system allows residents to contact 311 to voice concerns about unusual health occurrences in their communities.
National Epidemiologist Dr. Michelle Francois unveiled the initiative on February 2nd as a cornerstone of the newly implemented Event-Based Surveillance (EBS) framework. This structured system represents a significant advancement in national health security by creating standardized protocols for capturing and examining anomalous health events nationwide.
Dr. Francois acknowledged that while community members previously expressed concerns through informal channels, the absence of a dedicated reporting mechanism posed substantial risks. Critical information often circulated through unofficial networks without reaching health authorities in a timely manner, potentially delaying crucial interventions.
“We’ve established a confidential reporting architecture enabling direct communication between the public and health officials,” Dr. Francois stated. “This structured mechanism ensures we can promptly evaluate and respond to reported concerns.”
The epidemiologist stressed that civic participation forms the foundation of the system’s effectiveness. Residents are encouraged to report patterns such as unusual illness clusters, increased school absenteeism, or discoveries of deceased animals in public areas—potential indicators of emerging health threats.
These citizen reports may initiate formal investigations and, when warranted, trigger coordinated responses across multiple government ministries to ensure comprehensive threat mitigation. The system enhances national preparedness against potential outbreaks by leveraging community-level observations that might otherwise go unnoticed.