The New Zealand Paediatric Surveillance Unit was established with funding from the Ministry of Health in order to undertake surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) for the Ministry's National Certification Committee for the Eradication of Poliomyelitis (NCCEP). The World Health Organization (WHO), as part of the global eradication process, requires such surveillance to confirm New Zealand is free of poliomyelitis.
Opportunities have also been taken to study other uncommon high-impact conditions. Most of these studies have been undertaken by paediatricians with a particular interest.
The New Zealand Paediatric Surveillance Unit is part of the Department of Women's and Children's Health, Dunedin School of Medicine.