Islamabad : As Pakistan continues to face recurring outbreaks of measles, dengue, polio, mpox and sporadic cases of emerging infections, senior Pakistani and German public health officials have called for urgent strengthening of outbreak preparedness, trained surge capacity and institutional coordination.
They warned that weak data-sharing between provinces, hospitals and federal institutions remains one of the country’s biggest vulnerabilities in responding to health emergencies.
The concerns were raised during a high-level Pakistan–Germany technical engagement on outbreak preparedness and response held at the National Science and Technology Park (NSTP), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), where officials, researchers and international experts discussed how fragmented surveillance systems, delayed reporting and a limited deployable workforce continue to undermine timely outbreak response despite repeated lessons from Covid-19, dengue surges and polio resurgence.
Speaking at the opening session, German Deputy Head of Mission Arno Kirchhof said resilient outbreak response systems require long-term scientific collaboration, trusted institutional partnerships and sustained investment in technical capacity.
A high-level panel moderated by Dr Muhammad Tariq of NUST brought together Dr Andreas Jansen of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Dr Rizwan Riaz, Pro-Rector NUST, Maj Gen (r) Prof Dr Aamer Ikram, former chief executive of the National Institute of Health (NIH), Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan, Chief CDC NIH, and Dr Hassan Mahmood of Integral Global.
The panelists said outbreak preparedness cannot rely on ad-hoc emergency responses alone and must be supported by standing systems, trained human resources and clear coordination mechanisms aligned with international frameworks such as the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN).
Officials acknowledged that Pakistan’s outbreak response architecture remains constrained by inconsistent disease reporting from provinces, weak integration of laboratory, surveillance and response data, and limited operational readiness to deploy trained teams at short notice.
Participants from NIH, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, NDMA, DRAP, NARC, WHO, US-CDC, UNICEF and NUST attended the sessions, reflecting growing recognition that outbreak response requires coordination beyond the health ministry alone. The orientation also marked Pakistan’s first in-country GOARN orientation workshop, implemented through a partnership between NUST, Development Synergies International and the Robert Koch Institute.
Organisers said the initiative aims to develop a deployable national workforce aligned with international outbreak response standards, strengthen understanding of global coordination mechanisms.
