The workshop was held under the auspices of the "Wastewater Surveillance for Africa Initiative (WWS)" of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and supported by the European Union’s (EU) Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). It was organized in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The aim of the workshop was to strengthen the capacity for wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) across Southern Africa, by gathering key country representatives from public health and environmental sectors, to discuss and exchange key aspects and considerations for WES systems to strengthen public and environmental health. The 16 participating Southern African countries included: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.