Islamabad: Pakistan’s ability to detect and respond to disease outbreaks remains seriously weakened by poor data-sharing between provinces, hospitals and federal health institutions, health officials acknowledged as senior Pakistani and German public health experts met to review the country’s outbreak preparedness and response capacity.
The admission came 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 participants said fragmented surveillance systems, delayed reporting and weak integration of laboratory, clinical and response data continue to undermine timely public health action despite repeated warnings after Covid-19, dengue surges and the resurgence of polio.
Speaking at the opening session, German Deputy Head of Mission Arno Kirchhof said resilient outbreak response systems depend on long-term scientific collaboration, trusted institutional partnerships and sustained investment in technical capacity.
He said health threats cross borders and added that Pakistan and Germany share a common interest in building preparedness as a permanent feature of health systems rather than an emergency response activated after outbreaks spiral.
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 (retd) 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.
Panelists said that without timely, reliable and shared data, even well-trained response teams and modern laboratories cannot prevent delays in containment, warning that preparedness built on fragmented information remains largely ineffective.
Officials acknowledged that Pakistan’s outbreak response architecture continues to suffer from inconsistent disease reporting by provinces, limited routine data-sharing by public and private hospitals, and weak integration between laboratory surveillance and field response systems.
They said the absence of institutionalised mechanisms for real-time data exchange between provincial health departments, hospitals and federal bodies such as the NIH has repeatedly delayed risk assessments and operational decisions during outbreaks.
The engagement was followed by technical orientation sessions led by international experts Dr Evgeniya Boklage, Dr Andreas Jansen and Basel Karo, focusing on international deployment mechanisms, coordination during cross-border health emergencies and practical preparedness tools.
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 a growing consensus that outbreak response requires multi-sectoral data flows, not siloed reporting.
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 help develop a deployable national workforce aligned with international outbreak response standards and strengthen understanding of global coordination mechanisms, but officials conceded that training alone cannot compensate for weak national surveillance and data governance.
Prof Dr Aamer Ikram said Pakistan has invested in laboratory systems and biosafety over the past decade, but warned that preparedness will remain fragile unless data transparency, routine reporting and inter-provincial information-sharing become institutional norms rather than ad hoc practices.
Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan said national response plans risk remaining largely theoretical if frontline data on outbreaks, laboratory confirmations and hospital caseloads is not routinely shared with federal authorities in real time.
Dr Rizwan Riaz said universities must support practical solutions to Pakistan’s surveillance and data integration challenges alongside training human resources.
As Pakistan faces rising climate-linked health risks, rapid urbanisation and recurring communicable disease threats, experts warned that continued failure to fix basic data-sharing and surveillance gaps will keep the country exposed to preventable health emergencies.
They said international partnerships can strengthen capacity, but without functional domestic data systems, Pakistan will continue to respond to outbreaks late and at higher human and economic cost.
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