Workshop on wastewater and environmental surveillance for public health in central Asia: meeting report, Astana, 5 June 2025

Overview

The Workshop on wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) for public health in central Asia, held on 5 June 2025 in Astana, convened national and regional stakeholders to advance WES as a strategic public health tool. WES enables early detection of pathogens and supports outbreak preparedness by complementing clinical surveillance with population-level insights. Participants explored the health and environmental rationale for WES, shared country experiences and applied WHO’s draft multi-pathogen prioritization framework. The workshop highlighted persistent challenges in sanitation infrastructure, laboratory capacity, and governance, particularly in rural areas, while identifying opportunities for modernization, intersectoral coordination, and regional collaboration. Country teams selected priority pathogens and initiated action planning for WES implementation. The event reinforced WES as a cost-effective, scalable approach to strengthen surveillance systems, align with global best practices and support public health decision-making across central Asia. It contributed to regional efforts under the Protocol on Water and Health and supported the implementation of the Declaration of the Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health.