Islamabad: Health and agriculture experts have called for stronger cooperation between different sectors in Pakistan to prepare for future pandemics. They said diseases that spread from animals to humans, unsafe food, and misuse of antibiotics are serious risks for the country and must be tackled together.
On the second day of the One Health Mapping and Training Needs Assessment Workshop in Islamabad, Prof. Dr. Tariq Mahmood Ali, National Coordinator for One Health, said Pakistan needs trained people, better surveillance, and teamwork between health, livestock, agriculture and environment departments. “If we work together and build strong systems now, we can prevent the next big outbreak from becoming a crisis,” he said.
Other experts explained that Pakistan is vulnerable to diseases like rabies, bird flu and Congo virus, which can spread quickly without proper monitoring. They also warned about hospital infections and the growing threat of drug resistance, which makes common medicines less effective.
Representatives from WHO, FAO, ADB, US-CDC and other international partners joined Pakistani officials at the meeting. They recommended creating a single national system to track diseases and share information across all sectors. This, they said, would save money, avoid duplication, and make the country better prepared for emergencies.
The workshop ended with a commitment to strengthen Pakistan’s pandemic preparedness plan in line with global health standards.
On the first day of the workshop, State Minister for Health Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath had announced that the government would set up a One Health Secretariat in Islamabad to coordinate all such efforts.