One Health approach urged to manage emerging infections
Health Services Academy, in collaboration with Ayub Medical College (AMC), held a one-day advocacy seminar titled “Role of One Health for management of emerging infectious diseases” under the project “One Health Workforce Development & Coordination for Pandemic Readiness” at AMC, bringing together senior clinicians and officials from health, livestock, food safety, environment and planning sectors.
Chief guest Prof Dr Irfanuddin Khattak, Dean and CEO of the Medical Teaching Institution, Ayub Medical College, welcomed participants and appreciated the broad intersectoral representation. “Outbreaks do not respect institutional boundaries — preparedness demands coordinated action across human, animal and environmental health,” experts said during the seminar.
National One Health Coordinator Prof Dr Tariq Mahmood Ali noted that Pakistan has valuable surveillance efforts and datasets, but many remain fragmented and operate in silos, weakening early warning and delaying timely action. He stressed that connecting field reporting with decision-making at district and provincial levels is essential for effective containment. “Linking data from the field to leadership decisions is the difference between early control and costly escalation,” experts observed.
Prof Dr Umer Farooq, Dean/Head of Community Medicine at AMC, highlighted the need to align infection prevention and control, hospitals and public health functions through shared reporting systems and practical coordination. He proposed establishing a district-level technical working group comprising stakeholders present at the seminar, with Abbottabad positioned as a model district to demonstrate integrated One Health implementation and guide replication elsewhere.
Sessions also covered One Health workforce development, integrated surveillance approaches, food safety and WASH-related risks, and the environment–health nexus, with speakers emphasising sustained coordination among all stakeholders to detect, prevent and respond rapidly to future epidemics and pandemics.
