WHO/Europe is hosting 2 back-to-back workshops for Central Asian countries on safe sanitation, wastewater and environmental surveillance for public health. These 2 workshops for senior technical or director-level national experts from the health and environment sectors will take place in Astana, Kazakhstan on 3–5 June and will support countries in implementing the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)–WHO/Europe Protocol on Water and Health.
The workshops are also supported by 2 WHO collaborating centres:
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Risk Assessment of Pathogens in Food and Water, hosted by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM); and
- WHO Collaborating Centre on Environmental Health Risk Management, hosted by the National Centre for Public Health and Pharmacy, Hungary.
Central Asian workshop on safe sanitation for public health protection
The workshop on safe sanitation for public health protection in Central Asia has the aim to increase understanding of the health benefits of safely managed sanitation services and the key principles that collectively create an enabling environment for safe sanitation and to identify challenges and opportunities for improving sanitation.
Specifically, the workshop objectives are to:
- establish the health and environmental rationale for adequate and safely managed sanitation services;
- provide information on the core recommendations of the WHO Guidelines on sanitation and health;
- build capacity in applying the sanitation safety planning approach, including a focus on climate-resilient sanitation;
- share experiences and good practices from across Central Asia and beyond to address current sanitation challenges, including those related to small systems in rural areas;
- promote cross-sectoral collaboration for safely managed sanitation services, including for monitoring;
- highlight the opportunities of setting national sanitation targets under the Protocol on Water and Health; and
- engage in action planning to improve the sanitation situation, including formulating future needs for the work under the Protocol on Water and Health and at country level.
Central Asian workshop on wastewater and environmental surveillance for public health
The workshop on wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) for public health in Central Asia has the aim to increase understanding and build capacity on the principles, use cases and added value of WES in public health. It will also raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges associated with the possible establishment or expansion of an existing WES programme.
Specifically, the workshop objectives are to:
- establish the health and environment rationale for WES as a public health tool;
- share the current implementation of WES, including for poliovirus, in countries in Central Asia, and share WES experiences and good practices from across the WHO European Region;
- introduce and discuss the key principles of the draft WHO WES multi-pathogen tool;
- facilitate peer-to-peer exchange between relevant stakeholders from countries with experience in WES and those in the early stages; and
- engage in action planning for potential in-country WES activities.