In 2024, the GERMS-SA surveillance programme, co-ordinated by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), marked 21 years of laboratory-based infectious disease surveillance in South Africa. The programme continues to play a central role in tracking disease trends, monitoring antimicrobial resistance, and assessing the impact of public health interventions such as pneumococcal conjugate vaccines and antifungal therapy for cryptococcal meningitis.

Despite challenges including the NHLS cyberattack, supply shortages, and transport delays, surveillance activities remained uninterrupted through strong collaboration between laboratories, surveillance officers, and NICD staff. Integration with the Surveillance Data Warehouse (SDW) and the Notifiable Medical Conditions (NMC) system improved data completeness and the timeliness of reporting.

In 2024, GERMS-SA broadened its scope to include neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), launching a pilot project in Limpopo and Mpumalanga focusing on schistosomiasis and soiltransmitted helminthiasis (STH). This expansion strengthens national monitoring of diseases that disproportionately affect underserved communities.

Looking ahead, GERMS-SA will continue to focus on improving data quality, interoperability, and collaboration to ensure reliable, actionable surveillance data that informs public health action in South Africa.