New Delhi, July 30 -- The government plans to overhaul the monitoring of six vaccine-preventable diseases and shift it from the WHO-supported National Public Health Support Network to state health systems under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) by March 2027, according to two officials and a document reviewed by Mint. An official familiar with the matter said nearly half of the country's districts have already completed the operational handover.

However, at least one public health expert cautioned that the transition could compromise surveillance quality unless critical shortages of dedicated ground-level staff are addressed and tight coordination with immunization drives is maintained.

As part of the plan, the union ...