In cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), the Gates Foundation, the Institute of Philanthropy, and the Global Consortium on Wastewater and Environmental Surveillance for Public Health (GLOWACON), SUEN hosted the Funders Forum and Capacity Building Workshop on Wastewater and Environmental Surveillance on 17–19 November 2025 in Istanbul.
The first day of the program, featured the Funders Forum, attended by potential funding organizations in the field. The Forum explored existing and potential funding streams and financing mechanisms for scaling wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES). Organizations also shared their priority areas of interest and geographic focus, while financing approaches supporting nationwide scale-up were discussed.
In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye, Mr. Ebubekir Gizligider highlighted the need for a coordinated financing model to ensure a sustainable global surveillance system. He emphasized Türkiye’s belief that establishing a Funders Coalition would better address countries’ diverse needs. He also stressed the importance of approaching all requirements—from logistics and training to digitalization, consumables, and emergency preparedness—within an integrated financing framework.
Following the Funders Forum, a two-day capacity building workshop was organized on 18–19 November 2025 to strengthen the technical capacities of IsDB member countries in WES. Representatives from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Morocco, Qatar, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Syria, Tunisia, and Türkiye participated, representing institutions working in water, environment, health, and agriculture.
In his remarks at the opening of the workshop, Mr. Gizligider stated that the event represented an important step toward building a stronger regional surveillance ecosystem, noting that Türkiye, as a country that systematically implements wastewater surveillance works at national level under the coordination of SUEN, stands ready - together with IsDB and other funding partners - to support feasibility studies, project design, and improved access to financing for countries’ WES investments.
SUEN President Prof. Dr. Lütfi Akca emphasized that knowledge sharing and joint capacity building can make significant contributions to public health and environmental security. He expressed his hope that the program would pave the way for new collaborations and enhance resilience at regional and international levels.
Throughout the workshop, participants exchanged knowledge and experience on topics including site selection for WES programs, identification of priority pathogens, development of data platforms, lessons learned from global practices, establishing multi-sectoral collaboration networks across water, environment, agriculture, and health, and integrating WES into national disease surveillance strategies.
On the final day of the event, technical field visits were conducted to the Istanbul Tuzla Advanced Biological Wastewater Treatment Plant, where samples are collected, and the Istanbul Pendik Veterinary Control Institute, where laboratory analyses are carried out as part of the national surveillance works in Türkiye.
These comprehensive events marked a significant step toward strengthening regional cooperation, enhancing technical capacity, and building a sustainable structure for wastewater and environmental surveillance.
