In a significant advancement for the UKHSA’s International Health Regulations Strengthening Project (IHR-SP) Pakistan country team, in partnership with national and international collaborators, a collaborative and comprehensive roadmap for Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) Phase 2 implementation has been co-developed, marking a milestone in shaping the future of IDSR in Pakistan.

This roadmap is a continuation of IDSR Phase 1 document, developed in 2016 by Dr Anne Wilson, Head of IHR-SP, and has been meticulously crafted to include insights from evaluations such as the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) deep dive exercise and Joint External Evaluation (JEE) assessment in 2016 and 2023. These evaluations, alongside lessons learnt from the IDSR cascade training and National IDSR Review Workshops have been instrumental in shaping this strategic plan.

The roadmap is based on eight objectives, focusing on areas including governance, core surveillance functions, Public Health Laboratory capacities and IT infrastructure. There is a strong emphasis on multi-sectoral collaboration, integration of vertical data systems and developing human resources capacities at multiple levels. 

The process of developing this roadmap has been as collaborative as its content. Initially conceptualised and drafted by UKHSA’s IHR-SP Pakistan Country lead and wider in-country experts, a technical team of Officials from the National Institute of Health (NIH) also inputted into the roadmap and shared their feedback.

Considering the importance of the provincial and regional health departments’ ownership, provincial and regional public health experts were invited to attend a three day consultative workshop under the leadership of NIH, to review the document methodically and provide feedback. This collaborative and inclusive approach has ensured that the final roadmap, represents collective thoughts and joint efforts. At the end of the workshop, the roadmap was agreed at federal and provincial level. The next step is for the NIH at federal level to issue this agreed document to all IDSR stakeholders both government bodies and development partners, through government agreed process.  

It is pertinent to highlight the timeliness and strategic significance of this roadmap in guiding the five year National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPS) 2023 - 2028, which is currently under development by the National Health Ministry following the JEE in 2023. The development of this IDSR roadmap  prior to formulation of NAPS ensures that its actions, especially in areas of Surveillance, Response and Public Health Labs (PHLs) are aligned with that of the Phase 2 IDSR Roadmap. The roadmap document, therefore, stands as a significant milestone in IDSR journey and is a clear demonstration of UKHSA’s IHR-SP Pakistan team’s dedication to establish IDSR across the country.

Zeeshan Baig /Syed Wasif/Asif Behtani