Health workers from the Ministry of Health in North Darfur, Sudan, conduct environmental sampling for polio outside of a health facility in El Fasher.
Scaling wastewater and environmental surveillance
Wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) uses samples from sewage and other waters impacted by human wastewater to detect and track pathogens circulating in communities. It can complement clinical, laboratory and other surveillance by filling information gaps and supporting public health decisions.
WHO works across technical programmes, departments, regions and country offices to help Member States determine where WES can provide actionable information and how to establish sustainable systems. WHO develops guidance on prioritization, implementation and integration; supports capacity-building and country planning; advances multi-pathogen and genomic approaches; and promotes the integration of WES within collaborative public health surveillance. WHO’s work builds on long-standing environmental surveillance for poliovirus and lessons from the COVID-19 response, while expanding applications for other pathogens and public health threats.
WHO also convenes experts, partners and communities of practice to distill and share evidence and good practice, improve methods and data interpretation, and address governance, ethical, financing and sustainability considerations. This page brings together WHO guidance, publications, news, events, data, tools and communities related to WES across the Organization.
