The Health Services Academy (HSA), supported by Pak One Health Alliance, completed a two-day training workshop at the Grand Regency Hotel in Islamabad to strengthen district-level preparedness for epidemics and pandemics. The event, held under the federally funded PSDP project One Health Workforce Development and Coordination Towards Pandemic Readiness, brought together 32 district managers and frontline workers for practical capacity building.
Participants represented the District Health Office (DHO–ICT), public and private health facilities and frontline service providers across the Islamabad Capital Territory, including Medical Officers, Sanitary Workers and Allied Health Professionals. Combined with an earlier cohort of 35 professionals from human, animal and environmental sectors, the initiative has now prepared 67 trained One Health practitioners in Islamabad.
Training sessions focused on applied epidemiology, infection prevention and control, outbreak investigation and Rapid Response Team functions, along with One Health risk analysis and integrated surveillance and epidemic intelligence systems. Through interactive lectures, group exercises and expert-led discussions, attendees practised identifying early warning signals and coordinating multi-sectoral responses.
Participants developed plans to operationalise integrated surveillance across human, animal and environmental health domains at district and community levels, reflecting HSA’s role in building a coordinated One Health workforce. The programme seeks to convert lessons from COVID-19 into sustainable systems for early detection, rapid response and prevention of health emergencies before they escalate.
Backed by PSDP funding, the series positions Islamabad as a model district for pandemic preparedness by strengthening local capacity and fostering collaboration between public and private sectors, ensuring frontline teams are better equipped to detect and contain future threats.
