ABBOTTABAD: Health experts, clinicians and government officials have called for adopting a stronger One Health approach to improve Pakistan’s preparedness against emerging infectious diseases, stressing the need for closer coordination among human health, animal health, food safety and environmental sectors.
The call was made during a one-day advocacy seminar titled “Role of One Health for Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases” held at Ayub Medical College (AMC), Abbottabad, by the Health Services Academy in collaboration with Ayub Medical College under the project “One Health Workforce Development & Coordination for Pandemic Readiness.”
The seminar brought together senior representatives from health, livestock, food safety, environment and planning sectors to discuss integrated strategies for disease prevention, surveillance and pandemic preparedness.
Prof Dr Irfanuddin Khattak, Dean and CEO of the Medical Teaching Institution, Ayub Medical College, who attended as chief guest, welcomed participants and appreciated the broad intersectoral participation. He said outbreaks do not respect institutional boundaries and require coordinated action across human, animal and environmental health systems.
National One Health Coordinator Prof Dr Tariq Mahmood Ali said Pakistan has valuable surveillance systems and datasets, but many remain fragmented and operate in silos, weakening early warning mechanisms and delaying timely responses. He stressed the importance of linking field-level reporting with decision-making at district and provincial levels for effective disease containment.
Prof Dr Umer Farooq, Dean and Head of Community Medicine at Ayub Medical College, highlighted the importance of aligning infection prevention and control, hospital systems and public health functions through shared reporting and practical coordination mechanisms. He proposed the establishment of a district-level technical working group comprising relevant stakeholders, with Abbottabad serving as a model district for integrated One Health implementation.
Speakers during the seminar also discussed workforce development, integrated surveillance, food safety, water, sanitation and hygiene-related risks, and the environmental dimensions of disease prevention, emphasizing sustained multi-sector collaboration to improve readiness for future epidemics and pandemics.
