The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has presented a blueprint for a new global approach to tackle transboundary animal diseases.

Left unchecked, these diseases can rapidly undermine livelihoods and trade, hit low- and middle-income countries the hardest, and spill over into human populations with devastating consequences.

The FAO Global Partnership Programme for Transboundary Animal Diseases is a country driven, country-led initiative, in which the prevention and control of prioritised diseases are strengthened through National Partnership Platforms that bring together governments, the private sector, producers, foundations, farmers' organisations and financial institutions under one national framework.

"We must ensure that the next chapter of global animal health is not defined by crisis, but by cooperation, responsibility and shared success," FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said at a high-level event attended by ministers and high-level government representatives. He noted that transboundary animal diseases remain one of the most urgent threats to global food security, livelihoods and health.

Cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, and New World screwworm, among others, demonstrate that TADs "are spreading faster, further, and with greater impact on economies and livelihoods than ever before," Qu added.

The director-general stressed that prevention costs far less than inaction, noting that the recent introduction of the SAT1 serotype of foot-and-mouth disease into Asia could lead to US$2 billion in annual losses, according to FAO's impact assessment, and that investing upstream in prevention through a One Health approach is the only way to avert crises downstream.

"We can no longer speak only of zoonotic diseases. We need a right interpretation of a One Health holistic approach which encompasses soil health, animal health, plant health, human health, and environmental health," he added.

At the 44th Session of FAO Conference in July 2025, members recognised the critical importance of preventing, detecting and responding to the spread of TADs and sent a strong message to ensure that FAO's work is adequately resourced. Since, extensive consultations have been organised with members, at regional conferences and at FAO headquarters, to bring forth a renewed model of financing, partnership, and solidarity to tackle high impact animal diseases. These are ongoing to gather feedback and refine the evolving plan.

Currently, 110 countries have submitted official letters to the FAO director-general expressing their interest in joining the GPP-TAD, demonstrating a depth of political and financial commitment to a sustainable way of managing the most persistent and costly threats.

The high-level event included statements from the agriculture ministers of Italy, Cameroon, Jordan, Mali, Mongolia, Nepal, Burkina Faso, Serbia, Kenya, Brazil, Indonesia, Kyrgyz Republic, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Egypt, and Papua New Guinea, underscoring strong global support for a more coordinated and sustainable responses to diseases that rapidly spread across borders.

The goal of GPP-TAD is to reinforce and sustain the critical capacity built over more than 20 years through FAO's Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases. GPP-TAD brings forth a new way of funding and financing collective action on transboundary animal diseases, representing a fundamental paradigm shift in how FAO supports members.

Previous efforts relied primarily on donor-funded projects, with FAO serving primarily as an implementing force. GPP-TAD introduces a new global governance architecture and a shift to diversified financing models. In the new architecture, the director-general highlighted the transition away from a traditional project-by-project approach to an integrated platform conceived as a global public good, where countries lead implementation, with additional technical support from FAO calibrated to local needs and context. Regional hubs will coordinate cross-border action—the space where animal diseases cause their greatest damage and where no single country can act alone.

Through its EMPRES programme, FAO will continue to provide disease intelligence, early warning alerts, and normative guidance, and serve as a provider of last resort and surge assistance. National platforms are central, regional hubs coordinate technical assistance and promote collaboration, and FAO will host global coordination to support sustained prevention, preparedness, and collective action from the bottom up.

FAO will act as a global platform and facilitator, as well as a provider of normative guidance and support at global, regional, and national levels, and provide technical support to countries in establishing and operationalising their own national plans.

GPP-TAD will work across five mutually reinforcing areas: prevention and progressive disease control; digital surveillance, early warning, and animal health innovation; preparedness and risk-informed early action and anticipatory action; coordinated and rapid emergency response; and legislation, partnerships, and financing models.

A defining feature of the programme is its financing model. The programme introduces a diversified, solidarity-based model in which all participating countries will contribute according to their capacity, complemented by voluntary contributions from development partners, along with co-financing international financial institutions and the private sector.

At the global level, a steering committee will be established to provide strategic guidance, with participation and representation balanced across the world's regions, and a technical advisory group, which will include key technical partners, including FAO's governing bodies, will retain overall strategic oversight of the GPP-TAD.

GPP-TAD is "a strong global platform for solidarity, shared responsibility, and sustainable, predictable investment," Qu said, and concluded by emphasising that "healthy foods come from healthy soils, healthy plants and healthy animals for a healthy environment and a healthy life".

- National Hog Farmer

FAO unveils new blueprint for dealing with transboundary animal diseases globally

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