Global Health Leaders Launch Major One Health Push to Prevent Future Pandemics

The world’s leading international health and environmental agencies have unveiled an ambitious new global action agenda aimed at preventing future pandemics, combating zoonotic diseases, and strengthening health systems amid growing climate, biodiversity and food security crises.

At the One Health Summit in Lyon, France, the Quadripartite alliance — bringing together the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO), and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) — called for urgent global investment and accelerated implementation of the “One Health” approach.

The summit gathered international leaders, scientists and humanitarian partners at a time when governments are facing escalating risks linked to climate change, environmental degradation, animal disease outbreaks and increasingly interconnected global health threats.

One Health Approach Moves to Centre of Global Health Strategy

The “One Health” framework recognises that human health, animal health and environmental health are deeply interconnected and must be addressed together rather than through isolated systems.

Global health agencies warn that increasing ecosystem destruction, biodiversity loss, climate pressures and industrial expansion are intensifying the risk of zoonotic diseases — infections that spread between animals and humans — including future pandemic threats.

Against this backdrop, summit participants stressed that fragmented responses are no longer sufficient.

“The One Health approach is no longer a choice. It is a strategic imperative in an unstable but increasingly interconnected world,” said Dr Jeremy Farrar, Assistant Director-General at the World Health Organization.

The summit emphasized that prevention-focused health systems, early warning mechanisms and cross-sector cooperation will be critical to reducing future global crises.

Five Major Global One Health Initiatives Unveiled

The Quadripartite partners announced five major priority programmes designed to move global One Health efforts from political commitments into operational action.

1. Expanded Global Scientific Advisory Panel

The agencies confirmed the extension of the One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) through 2027, with further expansion planned through 2029.

The panel will continue to:

• Guide global One Health research

• Support implementation of the One Health Joint Plan of Action

• Provide science-based policy advice

• Strengthen international advocacy efforts

Officials say the expert panel will play a central role in coordinating scientific understanding of emerging health threats linked to animals, ecosystems and environmental disruption.

New International Avian Influenza Strategy

One of the summit’s most urgent announcements focused on the escalating global threat posed by avian influenza outbreaks.

The Quadripartite alliance and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals launched a new Strategic Framework for Collaboration on avian influenza.

The initiative aims to improve:

• Disease surveillance

• Risk assessment

• Preparedness systems

• Cross-border coordination

• Emergency response capacity

The framework responds to the rapid spread of avian influenza across species and continents in recent years, which has raised concerns about pandemic spillover risks, food system disruption and wildlife impacts.

Officials say the new strategy is designed to replace fragmented disease responses with a unified global One Health model.

New Global One Health Workforce Initiative

FAO, WHO and WOAH also launched the Joint One Health Learning Taskforce (JOHLT), aimed at building a stronger international workforce capable of managing increasingly complex health threats.

The initiative will:

• Harmonise training standards

• Expand interdisciplinary education

• Improve cross-sector coordination

• Support continuous professional development

• Strengthen national implementation capacity

The programme is expected to connect universities, governments and health systems through shared competency-based learning frameworks.

Experts say workforce shortages and siloed institutional structures remain major obstacles to effective One Health implementation globally.

New Global Push to Eliminate Rabies by 2030

A renewed international initiative to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030 was also announced at the summit.

The campaign — led by endemic countries alongside Institut Pasteur, WHO, WOAH and FAO — aims to address a disease that still kills nearly 60,000 people annually, many of them children.

The strategy focuses on:

• Mass dog vaccination programmes

• Improved disease surveillance

• Community education

• Strengthening local prevention systems

Health officials say rabies elimination could become a model for broader One Health prevention systems and cross-sector disease preparedness.

Veterinary Services Integrated Into Pandemic Preparedness

The summit also launched the “Beyond Silos” initiative led by WOAH in collaboration with WHO.

The programme aims to strengthen the integration of veterinary services into national emergency preparedness and pandemic response frameworks.

The initiative was heavily influenced by lessons learned during COVID-19, when gaps between animal health and public health systems were exposed globally.

The programme includes:

• Global preparedness guidance

• National simulation exercises

• Cross-government coordination models

• Advocacy for integrated health systems

Climate Change and Environmental Degradation Identified as Key Health Drivers

A major focus of the summit was the growing recognition that environmental destruction is directly accelerating health risks worldwide.

UNEP officials warned that ecosystem collapse, pollution and climate instability are fuelling disease emergence and intensifying humanitarian pressures.

“The health of people, animals and the planet is indivisible,” said Doreen Robinson of UNEP’s Ecosystem Division.

“When we degrade ecosystems, pollute the air we breathe and the water we drink, and destabilize the climate, we drive the very health crises we then scramble to contain.”

The summit placed particular emphasis on addressing “non-traditional” One Health threats, including environmental drivers of disease that historically received less attention in public health planning.

Economic Stakes Increasingly Central to One Health Debate

Global agencies also highlighted the massive economic costs associated with animal disease outbreaks and weak prevention systems.

WOAH Director General Dr Emmanuelle Soubeyran warned that inadequate animal health systems currently contribute to estimated global economic losses of around US$300 billion annually.

Officials argued that investing in integrated prevention systems delivers major returns by protecting:

• Food security

• Agricultural production

• Global trade

• Public health systems

• Livelihoods

• Economic stability

Calls for Greater Global Investment

Despite growing international recognition of One Health principles, agencies warned that many countries still lack the financing, coordination and infrastructure required for effective implementation.

Summit participants urged governments, donors and development partners to maintain momentum by investing in integrated One Health systems and translating political commitments into measurable outcomes.

“The Summit delivered a clear message: health security begins with prevention, and prevention requires sustained investment in integrated One Health systems,” Soubeyran said.

As global health, environmental and food system pressures continue intensifying, the Lyon summit signals a growing international shift toward prevention-focused, cross-sector health governance designed to tackle the interconnected crises shaping the future of global public health.