The World Organisation for Animal Health has adopted its eighth strategic plan for 2027–2031, establishing a coordinated global response to emerging zoonotic disease threats. The framework prioritizes enhanced surveillance systems, One Health coordination, and antimicrobial resistance prevention across WOAH’s 182 member countries.
Given that approximately 75% of emerging infectious diseases affecting humans originate from animals, strengthening animal health monitoring systems is critical for pandemic preparedness. The strategic plan specifically targets surveillance gaps in low- and middle-income countries, where laboratory capacity and data-sharing mechanisms remain underdeveloped.
WOAH will collaborate with the World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization to implement integrated surveillance and rapid response systems capable of identifying disease outbreaks before cross-border transmission occurs. This coordinated approach recognizes that human, animal, and environmental health are fundamentally interconnected and require unified intervention strategies.
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