30/07/2026
The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination (MoNHSR&C), in collaboration with the National Institute of Health, launched the Pakistan Wastewater Environmental Surveillance (WES) Strategy and the National WES Genomics Dashboard, a major step toward strengthening disease surveillance and outbreak preparedness in the country. The launch was inaugurated by the Honourable Federal Minister for Health, Syed Mustafa Kamal, who emphasized the importance of wastewater surveillance as an early warning tool for timely outbreak detection and evidence-based public health action. Dr. Muhammad Salman, CEO NIH, highlighted that the WES system will enhance Pakistan’s capacity to monitor priority pathogens and support a coordinated One Health approach. NIH team presented the progress including three consultative national workshops, two capacity building hands-on laboratory trainings, prioritization of 33 pathogens for WES, development of metagenomic data analysis pipelines, identification of sampling sites for wastewater testing, ongoing pilot WES data generation in Punjab and Sindh using 16S metagenomics and TaqMan array-based assays, development of a national wastewater genomic surveillance cost estimation tool, and stakeholder engagement to translate WES data into public health action.
The initiative demonstrates Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening public health preparedness in collaboration with government institutions, Duke-NUS Centre for Outbreak Preparedness, Aga Khan University, academia, and national partners to establish sustainable wastewater-based surveillance systems.