Advancing surveillance through strategic leadership

A high-level advocacy meeting held in Punjab has secured crucial political support for establishing a provincial Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) laboratory network – marking a significant advancement in Pakistan’s compliance with the International Health Regulations (IHR).

The initiative, led jointly bythe UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) International Health Regulations Strengthening Project (IHR-SP), in partnership with Pakistan’s National Institute of Health (NIH) and Punjab’s Departments of Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education (SHC&ME) and Health & Population (H&P), brought together senior leadership to align on priorities for integrating laboratory-confirmed data into the existing IDSR system. The discussion highlighted achievements under Phase 1 of IDSR, shared the roadmap for Phase 2, and secured political endorsement for developing a robust provincial lab network to enhance early detection, timely response, and evidence-informed action.

Pakistan’s commitment to IHR implementation

As a signatory of IHR 2005, Pakistan has demonstrated remarkable progress in strengthening its health security infrastructure since becoming the first country in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to complete the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of its IHR core capacities in 2016, followed by a recent second JEE in 2023. These evaluations highlighted the need for a real-time integrated surveillance system supported by a nationwide public health laboratory network both at the national and provincial levels.

Securing political commitment in Punjab

To initiate phase 2 of IDSR in Punjab, UKHSA and NIH held an advocacy meeting with SHC&ME Punjab to build high-level support.

The meeting highlighted impressive achievements from Phase 1 implementation, where IDSR has been successfully established across all provinces and districts by October 2024. The new Phase 2 focuses specifically on integrating laboratory networks to provide confirmed case data - transforming how Pakistan detects and responds to potential outbreaks, outlined in the national roadmap. The first provincial IDSR lab network has been established in Sindh, with over 50 laboratories regularly reporting confirmed case data to the NIH.

Building on this, the IHR-SP Pakistan Country Lead Dr Muhammad Sartaj proposed a roadmap for establishing the IDSR Laboratory Network in Punjab. This nationwide effort aims to connect more than 300 laboratories across Pakistan—creating one of the region's most comprehensive disease surveillance networks.

Punjab's Ministerial endorsement and next steps

Punjab’s Health Minister expressed strong support for the initiative, emphasising the importance of expanding the network to specialised institutions and teaching hospitals:

“Now expansion of IDSR in specialised institutions and teaching hospitals to enhance health workforce capacities, knowledge and skills for early detection and prompt response to diseases of national and international concern is required to be strengthened along with public health lab networking, for developing linkages between suspect cases and confirmed cases. It will enable our field force to respond effectively & limit the spread of disease”.

The Minister’s endorsement included a firm commitment that “the Government of Punjab will extend full support to establish the IDSR lab network and the collaboration between UK Health Security Agency and Institute of Public Health will bring positive outcomes regarding preparedness for any potential epidemic or outbreak and also strengthen the evidence-based disease surveillance system and decision making process, ensuring effective health interventions and prompt outbreak response”.

IHR-SP Pakistan Country Lead Dr Muhammad Sartaj said: “The IHR-SP team’s efforts have laid a strong foundation through sustained technical support, trust-building, and strategic collaboration, positioning Punjab to become a leading example of integrated surveillance in action. IHR-SP will continue to work with other provinces to incorporate them into the IDSR lab network, with the goal of connecting more than 300 labs nationwide. These developments represent a promising step forward in enhancing epidemic preparedness and health security across Pakistan.”