GLOWACON Regional Conference 2024: Expanding the Networks of Wastewater and Environmental Surveillance (WES) Global Stakeholders

Singapore—From 23 to 28 June 2024, a workshop and conference titled “Developing a Regional Agenda for Wastewater & Environmental Surveillance (WES) and Research” was held. This five-day workshop was sponsored by Temasek Foundation under its Research, Engagements and Alliance for Diseases caused by Infections (READI) Programme and was co-organised by PREPARE with Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA); the National Environment Agency (NEA), Singapore; Asia Pathogen Genomics Initiatives (Asia PGI); and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). An estimated 250 participants, ranging from researchers to governmental officers, funders, and industry professionals, attended this workshop. The main goal of this workshop is to connect, build, and maintain the networks of WES actors from Asia and global counterparts, fostering epidemic research partnerships in the region.

The Center for Child Health – Pediatric Research Office (CCH-PRO), Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada was invited to this workshop and represented by the WES study team, Prof. dr. Indah Kartika Murni, M.Kes, PhD, Sp.A(K), dr. Vicka Oktaria, MPH, PhD, FRSPH, Prof. dr. Titik Nuryastuti, M.Si., Ph.D, SpMK(K), Rizka Dinari, S.Gz, MPH, and together with our co-investigator from Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, drh. M. Th. Khrisdiana Putri, M.P., PhD. The WES team are known for their prior and ongoing works in this field, including ‘SARS-CoV-2 surveillance using Wastewater and Environmental Sampling in Indonesia (SWESP)’, ‘Cost-effectiveness of SWESP as an early warning system for community COVID-19 transmission in Indonesia’, ‘Environmental Surveillance for Typhoid Burden in Yogyakarta Indonesia (TWESP)’, and ‘Advancing Public Health: Institutionalizing Wastewater Surveillance in Indonesia’.

The first day of the workshop focused on wastewater implementation in Global and Asia. The second day focused on the key components of WES implementation, i.e., institutionalisation and disease prioritisation for WES, and the ethics, communication, and advocacy in which our team leader, Prof. Indah, acted as one of the panelists, speaking from the clinician’s perspective. The third day focused on the added value of WES for pandemic preparedness, WES as part of collaborative surveillance, and the data analysis of WES data, including the need for modelling. The fourth day focused on risk assessment mapping for WES in Asia, where Dr Vicka presented the main results of the previous works that WES can be used for detecting SARS-CoV-2, measuring typhoid burden in the community, and WES is more likely to be cost-effective compared to individual surveillance. Lastly, the fifth day summarised the overall content delivered in the last four days and discussed any needs required by each participating country in Asia for further advancing WES implementation. Prof Titik represented the Indonesia team and highlighted the need for sustainable sampling methods and logistics, capacity building in lab operation, and building a data digitalisation platform as well as data integration to aid decision making. In addition, during the workshop, the participants were also asked to work on a concept note for future projects, which discussed technical guidance, data management (analytics, modelling, sharing, and interoperability), research and development for WES, and training and capacity building.

All conference participants from many parts of the world

Prof. Indah talked about the WES ethics, communication, and advocacy from the clinician’s perspective

Dr Vicka presented the CCH-PRO team prior and ongoing works on WES and its potential for risk mapping in Indonesia.

Prof. Titik presented the needs for WES development in Indonesia

UGM delegates for GLOWACON Regional Conference 2024

Reporter: Rizka Dinari, 31 July 2024