The world is facing serious health threats from zoonotic diseases—illnesses that spread from animals to humans. Examples include Ebola, avian flu, COVID-19, and HIV. These diseases highlight the close link between the health of humans, animals, and the environment.
The rise of zoonotic diseases is driven by factors such as urbanization, deforestation, climate change, and wildlife exploitation. These problems cross borders and require a global, coordinated response.
A holistic approach to health allows countries to cover all aspects of disease control: prevention, detection, preparedness, response, and management. This helps strengthen global health security.
The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes this approach through the One Health framework. One Health recognizes that the health of people, animals, and the environment are interconnected and should be addressed together.
At the International Livestock Research Institute, where I lead the health program, we focus on controlling livestock diseases, zoonotic infections, and foodborne illnesses. These problems often hit poor communities the hardest.
For example, in Kenya, we have partnered with the One Health Centre in Africa to vaccinate over 146,000 dogs in Machakos County. In Ethiopia and Vietnam, we helped improve hygiene practices for butchers in traditional markets. We also support universities in 11 countries to include One Health concepts in their teaching.
Our experience across Asia and Africa shows three urgent needs: stronger cooperation across sectors; better involvement of policymakers to turn research into action; and tailored solutions that fit local conditions.
Despite knowing that prevention is cheaper than cure, investment in this area remains slow. More funding and faster action are critical to avoid costly pandemics.
In 2022, WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Environment Programme, and the World Organisation for Animal Health launched a joint One Health plan. This plan targets key areas, such as:
- Reducing risks from new and recurring zoonotic outbreaks by tightening wildlife trade and farming regulations.
- Fighting endemic and neglected diseases by improving community knowledge and response.
- Monitoring food safety risks from emerging infections.
- Combating antimicrobial resistance, a major global health threat.
Global efforts also include the Prezode initiative, launched in 2021 by French President Emmanuel Macron to study animal-origin diseases. The Africa One Health University Network works in ten countries to train a One Health workforce.
Although One Health is gaining support worldwide, much more work remains.
The cost of not acting is high. The World Bank estimated in 2022 that preventing pandemics would cost about $11 billion annually, while managing them could cost $31 billion per year. This 3:1 cost-benefit ratio makes prevention a smart investment.
The Pandemic Fund, created by the G20 and hosted by the World Bank, has awarded $885 million to 47 projects to help low- and middle-income countries prepare for pandemics. However, this amount is still small compared to the funds needed for prevention.
Global calls for increased One Health investment have come from the last two World One Health congresses and regional meetings. At the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva, WHO member states agreed on the world’s first Pandemic Agreement, marking a major step for One Health and disease prevention.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the terrible cost of inaction. To date, COVID-19 has caused over 777 million cases and more than 7 million deaths worldwide. The International Monetary Fund estimates a total economic loss of $13.8 trillion by 2024.
The choice is clear: invest now in One Health to prevent future pandemics or face heavy human and economic losses later.
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