Advancing Wastewater & Environmental Surveillance for Public Health Impact in Asia (ADWANCE-Asia)

Priority Areas
Wastewater and Environmental Surveillance
Advancing Wastewater & Environmental Surveillance for Public Health Impact in Asia (ADWANCE-Asia)

ADWANCE-Asia (2026-2029)

Advancing Wastewater & Environmental Surveillance for Public Health Impact in Asia (ADWANCE-Asia) is a direct grant to the Asia Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Asia PGI), an initiative from the Duke-NUS Centre for Outbreak Preparedness, with funding from the European Commission (EC) to support wastewater surveillance for the early detection of infectious disease threats in Asia.

This project aims to support Asian countries to institutionalise sustainable and fit-for-purpose wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) systems by applying lessons and scientific evidence generated from regional networks and partnerships, including EU-led programmes and global initiatives. With EC funding via the EU4Health programme managed by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), on behalf of the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG HERA), the project began in February 2026 and will run for three years.

Key focus areas

Network collaboration

Strengthen the Asia PGI WES network to support regional coordination.

Capacity building

Provide training on standardised laboratory, genomics, and bioinformatics workflows, and share emerging WES innovations.

Capability development

Support selected countries to pilot and scale multi-pathogen genomics approaches within WES.

Strategic evidence and integration

Support national planning for priority pathogens, promote convergence on guidance and standards, and strengthen data-driven public health decision-making.

Why now

Genomic sequencing has rapidly matured into a powerful tool for detecting and characterising pathogens - quickly, accurately, and at scale. In parallel, wastewater sampling has gained momentum since the COVID-19 pandemic as a relatively low-cost, unobtrusive approach to community-level disease surveillance.

Combining wastewater surveillance with multi-pathogen genomics can provide a timely snapshot of which infectious disease threats may be circulating in a population. This is especially valuable in lower-resource settings where clinical surveillance can be constrained by limited access, uneven reporting, or delayed diagnosis.

Now is the right time to expand this integrated approach as an early warning system that enables public health officials to detect emerging risks sooner and act faster.

Approach & Work Packages

Approach

Work Packages

Project approach

Build technical and innovation capacity through the Asia Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Asia PGI) Academy, in collaboration with partners including the European Water Academy and GLOWACON.
Enable cross-country learning and coordination through structured knowledge exchange.
Generate evidence and practical frameworks for national WES integration, including strategic planning tools and legal and ethical guidance.
Map and analyse existing WES databases and dashboards across Asia to improve data use and decision-making.

WP1: Project management and coordination

Ensure the project activities progress as planned
Ensure the resources (including finances) are accounted and planned to support the activities
Ensure the relevant stakeholders (especially HERA) are updated on the progress, quality and impact of the activities

WP2: Development and validation of low-cost, multi-pathogen WES assays

Support the development, validation, and affordable procurement of lower-cost, multi-pathogen WES assays

WP3: Strengthening WES technical and innovation capacity

Strengthen WES technical and innovation capacity, including for mpox detection

WP4: Integration of WES as national collaborative surveillance system

Generate evidence and frameworks to support integration of WES into national surveillance systems with a focus on public health impact and emerging threat detection, including for mpox

Recent highlights

Duke-NUS awarded €2 million EU grant to help Asia detect outbreaks earlier through wastewater surveillance

Learn more

Acknowledgements

This project is co-funded by the European Union’s European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) HaDEA.A.1 –EU4Health Programme (EU4H)/ EU4H-2025-DGA-01-IBA under grant agreement No. 101286993. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.

Co-funded by the EU

Get in touch

For questions and collaborations, contact Vincent Pang Junxiong, WES Lead, at pangjxv@nus.edu.sg.