Case study
Strengthening One Health Surveillance in Central Asia
Building a regional foundation for pandemic prevention and health security
Client: World Bank
Contracting Partner: Alinea International
Region: Central Asia
Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Year: 2022 to 2023
Prime Consulting Role: Technical leadership, surveillance system assessment, investment analysis, stakeholder engagement, programme design
Overview
The COVID 19 pandemic exposed critical gaps in global disease surveillance and highlighted the risks that emerge at the intersection of human, animal and environmental health. In Central Asia, surveillance systems had developed unevenly across sectors and borders, limiting the region’s ability to detect and respond early to emerging threats such as zoonotic disease, antimicrobial resistance and food safety risks.
Prime Consulting was engaged as the technical lead for a major World Bank assignment to scope and design a regional One Health surveillance framework covering five Central Asian countries. Working in partnership with Alinea International, the assignment focused on diagnosing system gaps, assessing real world capability and defining practical, investment ready pathways to strengthen surveillance at both national and regional levels.
Rather than producing abstract policy recommendations, the work was grounded in operational reality, institutional constraints and political context. The outcome was a robust, evidence based platform that now informs World Bank investment decisions and national planning across the region.
The challenge
Central Asia’s surveillance landscape was fragmented. Human health, animal health, food safety and environmental monitoring systems operated largely in silos, with limited data sharing, inconsistent standards and varying levels of technical capacity between countries.
Key challenges included incomplete data flows, constrained laboratory capability, unclear institutional mandates, workforce shortages and limited regional coordination mechanisms. While individual countries had made progress within specific sectors, there was no shared framework to support cross border early warning, joint analysis or coordinated response to regional health threats.
The challenge was not simply technical. Surveillance reform required careful navigation of political sensitivities, institutional cultures, resourcing realities and differing levels of readiness across five sovereign states. Any recommendations needed to be realistic, prioritised and aligned with how governments actually operate.
The approach
Prime Consulting led a structured, multi sector assessment designed to diagnose problems clearly and define workable solutions. A tailored analytical framework was developed drawing on international One Health standards, including guidance from the Quadripartite, WHO, FAO, WOAH, US CDC and EU ECDC.
The team conducted extensive country level engagement with ministries responsible for health, agriculture and environment, as well as national epidemiology institutes, veterinary authorities and laboratory networks. This was complemented by detailed reviews of existing documentation, surveillance protocols, data systems and workforce models.
Rather than avoiding difficult conversations, the assessment was deliberately candid. System weaknesses, duplication and gaps were identified openly, with a strong emphasis on saving governments and funders time, effort and future cost by focusing on what would actually deliver impact.
An economics and finance lens was applied throughout. Surveillance strengthening was framed not as an abstract public good, but as an investment decision requiring prioritisation, sequencing and value for money. Prime Consulting developed costed investment options and practical governance models that could be implemented incrementally and scaled over time.
Delivery and outcomes
All deliverables were completed on time and approved by the World Bank, including inception, interim, draft final and final reports. Prime Consulting’s work fed directly into the Central Asia One Health Framework for Action, which now guides future World Bank lending, grant support and national budget allocation decisions.
Key outputs included a multi country comparative assessment of surveillance capability, a documented baseline of pandemic preparedness across five countries and a clear catalogue of system bottlenecks and enabling conditions. The assignment produced a prioritised menu of national and regional investment options covering laboratory upgrades, workforce strengthening, data interoperability, governance arrangements and shared training systems.
A proposed model for a Central Asian One Health regional dashboard was also developed, creating a pathway for improved data sharing and coordinated early warning across borders.
Perhaps most importantly, the process itself strengthened relationships. Regular dialogue between ministries of health, agriculture and environment helped build trust, shared understanding and commitment to joint governance approaches that had previously been limited.
Why it worked
The assignment succeeded because Prime Consulting combined technical depth with practical judgement. The team brought senior expertise in epidemiology, animal health, food safety and environmental health, while remaining flexible and responsive to political and institutional realities on the ground.
Rather than applying a one size fits all solution, recommendations were tailored to each country’s starting point, while still supporting regional alignment. The ability to scale through partnerships, draw on trusted local engagement and maintain a lean, hands on delivery model ensured momentum was maintained throughout the assignment.
Crucially, Prime Consulting treated the World Bank’s objectives and the participating governments’ outcomes as shared outcomes. The focus was not on producing a report, but on creating a durable platform that could support better decision making for the next decade.
Impact at a glance
Five Central Asian countries assessed under a unified One Health framework
Multi sector surveillance systems mapped across human, animal and environmental health
Priority national and regional investment options identified and costed
Proposed governance model for regional One Health coordination
Foundation established for improved early warning of zoonotic and pandemic threats
Direct input into World Bank investment planning and future donor financing
Strengthened cross ministry collaboration across health, agriculture and environment