Two-thirds of emerging diseases and nearly all recent pandemics originate from the transmission of animal-borne pathogens to humans. The number and frequency of these spillovers are increasing, largely due to human activities that disrupt ecosystems – such as land-use change, biodiversity loss, wildlife exploitation, and deforestation. The One Health approach proposes coordinated prevention efforts across human, animal, and environmental health sectors. Today, it is widely recognized by experts, international institutions, and WHO member states as an essential pillar for effective pandemic prevention, with broader benefits for ecosystem health as a whole.
One Health prevention measures require investments that are estimated to be a hundred times lower than the economic impact of pandemics. These facts are well documented. Yet the international response remains fragmented, and the integration of this approach into national and international policy frameworks is still insufficient – despite scientific consensus, years of advocacy, and growing institutional engagement.
As negotiations for the International Agreement on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response near completion under WHO’s leadership, we –researchers, policymakers, and actors engaged in the development of this new global instrument – are calling on the international community not to miss this moment: The agreement must make prevention a concrete priority, grounded in operational One Health governance at every level, from local to global.
While some delegations have voiced concerns about the scope of their commitments, others stress the need to uphold the agreement’s ambition. In this delicate balance, it is crucial to avoid weakening the text or postponing key provisions, particularly through a still-uncertain annex. In over 70 countries studied – including many low- and middle-income countries –the One Health approach has already been institutionalized through platforms, committees, and strategic plans, offering a strong foundation for enhanced intersectoral collaboration. Enshrining this positive momentum in the treaty would ensure that prevention efforts are translated into operational measures, thereby strengthening global resilience to health threats.
We therefore call on member states to: Successfully conclude the negotiations by the World Health Assembly in May 2025, resulting in what could become the very first international, legally binding agreement rooted in the One Health approach. This would mark a historic turning point and signal a collective commitment to ambitious, integrated, and equitable prevention.
potential of the One Health approach within the Pandemic Agreement and to embed it in national priorities, moving beyond a narrow focus on global zoonotic threats. Prevention will only be effective if it also responds to the specific needs of countries, their health systems, and their populations.
It is also essential to commit to strengthening regional collaboration by building on the expertise of One Health “champion countries.” These pioneering countries must play a leading role in inspiring and supporting their neighbors through ambitious regional cooperation. They will need to ensure sustainable funding for prevention strategies and actions, integrated into national budgets while also mobilizing international support especially for low-income countries. Instruments like the Pandemic Fund can both reinforce national capacities and promote country ownership and longterm sustainability.
Finally, we call on member states to base decisions on robust and up-to-date scientific evidence. Political choices must be grounded in facts, not in partial perceptions or preconceived ideas. In global health, perhaps more than anywhere else, international action must be informed by a nuanced understanding of national contexts, operational levels, and local constraints. Only then can commitments be truly relevant, adapted, and operational.
The pandemic agreement must reflect a core truth: Prevention is not a luxury, nor an optional extra – it is a cornerstone of equity and global health security. It must be implemented in times of peace, maintained over the long term, and supported by a fully intersectoral One Health governance structure aligned with country priorities and tailored to realities on the ground. Without this, One Health risks remaining an unfulfilled promise, and pandemic prevention will not be possible at the earliest stages – before people and their communities are affected. To protect populations, we must act upstream, with clarity, solidarity, and responsibility.
Full list of signatories
Papa Serigne Seck, President General Assembly, PREZODE initiative
Josef Pfabigan, CEO, FOUR PAWS (VIER PROFTEN International)
Alexandra L Phelan, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
Esme Wheeler, Action for Animal Health
Susan Lieberman, Vice President of International Policy, Wildlife Conservation Society
Mark Jones, Head of Policy, Born Free Foundation
Katherine Urbáez, Health Diplomacy Alliance
Hope Ferdowsian, MD, MPH, Phoenix Zones Initiative
Lourdes Jiménez Mora, Proyecto ARPA
Tricia Croasdell, CEO, World Animal Protection
James Yeates, CEO, World Federation of Animals
Elisabeth Claverie de Saint-Martin, présidente-directrice générale du Cirad
Philippe Mauguin, président-directeur général de l’Inrae, France
Valérie Verdier, présidente-directrice générale de l’IRD, France
Josef Settele, Co-Chair of IPBES Global Assessment, Helmholtz Centre for
Environmental Research – UFZ
Marisa Peyre, Co-fondatrice de l’Initiative PREZODE, directrice adjointe UMR ASTRE,
Cirad
Nina Jamal, Head of Pandemic & Campaign Strategies, FOUR PAWS (VIER PFOTEN
International)
Julie Meunier, chercheuse en politique publique, Cirad
Teresa Pegger-Baur, Programme Manager, FOUR PAWS (VIER PFOTEN International)
Servane Baufumé, International affairs Officer, CIRAD, France
Carine Rouah, Experte Partenariats Santé Globale
Chloé Bâtie, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
Benoit Miribel, President – Fondation Une Santé Durable pour Tous
Hope Ferdowsian, President, Phoenix Zones Initiative and Professor University of New
Mexico School of Medicine
Mia MacDonald, executive director, Brighter Green, New York City, USA
Lourdes Susana Cruz Aguilar; representative of Naturaleza Animal, México.
Max Claron, Health & Environment Programme Manager, Friendship France
Andrew deCoriolis, executive director, Farm Forward
Maike Sander, Vice President of Helmholtz Health and Scientific Director of the Max
Delbrück Center
Adolfo Sansolini, AnimalWelfareAndTrade
Rajesh K. Reddy, President, International Coalition for Animal Protection, United
States
Ian Redmond, Head of Conservation, Ecoflix Foundation
Prof Nitish Debnath, National Coordinator, One Health Bangladesh
Hung Nguyen, Program Leader (a.i.), HEALTH, International Livestock Research
Institute (ILRI)
Richard Shilamba, Executive Director, Children Education Society (CHESO), Tanzania
Gabriel Magezi, Executive Director (The young and older persons integrated
Development program in Africa- YOLIDA)
Aline van der Werf , manager of the Belgian biodiversity platform, Belgian Science
Policy Office (BELSPO)
Anissa Dhaouadi, Sous Directeur de la Veille Zoosanitaire, Centre National de Veille
Zoosanitaire, Tunisie
Luca Bellomo, Associate Director, EU Public Policy at MSD Animal Health, Belgium
Kim Doyle, COO, Global Alliance for Rabies Control
Josephine Ngo Mbing, Chef de Cellule, Ministère de la Recherche Scientifique et de
l’Innovation, Cameroon
Margaret Karembu, Director, ISAAA AfriCenter
Carel du Marchie Sarvaas HealthforAnimals (global animal health association)
Roxane Feller, Secretary General, AnimalhealthEurope
Dr Serge Breysse, CEO, Solthis
Monique Pool, Director, Green Heritage Fund Suriname
Dr John de Jong, President, World Veterinary Association
Magda Robalo, President and Co-founder, The Institute for Global Health and
Development (IGHD), Guinea-Bissau
Hamidou Ouedraogo, Directeur Exécutif National, Réseau Accès aux Médicaments
Essentiels (RAME), Burkina Faso
Luc Arnaud, Directeur général / Executive Director, Gret
Christophe Chauveau, Directeur Général, Agronomes et Vétérinaires sans Frontières
Eric ETTER, Permanent Secretary, CaribVET, Guadeloupe
Kathian Hackshaw, Chief Veterinary Officer, Animal Health and Production Division,
Ministry of Agriculture, St,Vincent and the Grenadines
Jean-Louis Hunault secretary general Diagnostics for Animals France
Dr. Kyaw Thowai Prue Prince, Medical Officer and Field Epidemiologist, IEDCR,
Bangladesh
Prof. Christian Léonard, General director, Sciensano, Belgium
Lennox ST. Aimee, Chief Veterinary Officer, Dominica
Wayan T. Artama, One Health Collaborating Center, Universitas Gadjah Mada,
Indonesia
Arjen van de Giessen, President of the European One Health Association
Vu Thi Phuong, National Coordinator for One Health Partnership of Vietnam
Emmanuel Okunga, Senior Deputy Director of Medical Services, Head of Zoonotic
Disease Unit, Division of Disease Surveillance and Response, Ministry of Health, Kenya
Christine Franklin, Wildlife Conservation Society
Amélie Desvars-Larrive, Assoc.-Prof. at University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna &
Faculty at Complexity Science Hub, Austria
Robyn Alders AO, Honorary Professor, Australian National University, Australia
Annabelle Daburon, researcher, Wageningen University & Research
Dr. Rico Ancog, Professor, School of Environmental Science and Management,
University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines
Gabriel Shirima, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology,
Research Group Leader, Tanzania
Annapaola Rizzoli, DVM,PhD, Research and Innovation Centre, Edmund Mach
Foundation, Italy
Fee Zimmermann, Head of Research Group, Helmholtz Institute for One Health,
Germany
Carlos Shiva, researcher; Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad
Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Perú
Renaud Becquet, Directeur de Recherche à l’Inserm, GHiGS/BPH (Inserm, IRD,
Université de Bordeaux), Bordeaux, France
Casimiro Vizzini, Institutional Relations Officer, One Sustainable Health for All
Foundation
Aitor Nogales, researcher, CISA-INIA/CSIC. Spain
Elsa Leger, Global Science Officer, PREZODE Initiative, INRAE, France
Fatma Guerfali, Researcher, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunisia
Jens Jäger, Delegate for the Research Field Health, Helmholtz Association of German
Research Centres
Christine Citti, researcher, Prezode science focal point, INRAE, France
Thierry Lefrançois, conseiller de la PDG, CIRAD
Nathalie Vachiery, Directrice UMR ASTRE, Cirad
Helene Guis, researcher, Cirad, France
Flavie Goutard, Senior Epidemiologist, UMR ASTRE CIRAD, Vietnam
Séverine Thys, Health Anthropologist, ASTRE unit, CIRAD, Lao PDR
Lina Gazu, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Montreal, Canada
Guillaume Lhermie, Professor, University of Calgary, Canada
Laurie Morgan, Board Member, International Coalition for Animal Protection
Alexandre White, Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University and School of
Medicine
Ana Zenclussen, researcher, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig,
Germany
Nigel Sizer, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, BioDiverse LLC
Samantha Mora Mexico coordinator pollination project
Josefina Coloma, PhD; Scientist, Executive Director, Sustainable Sciences Institute, CA,
USA
Richard Riegelman MD, MPH, PhD Professor and Founding Dean, Milken Institute
School of Public Health, The George Washington University
Kelly Sambucci, researcher, Institute of Vertebrate Biology CAS, Czech Republic
William Douglas Evans, Professor, United States
Josef Penninger, Germany
Holger Sondermann, lead scientist, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
Simon Reid, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Brsibane,
Queensland, Australia
Roslyn Hickson, Associate Professor, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and
Medicine and James Cook University, Australia.
Sophie Molia, researcher, CIRAD, France
Dr. Rafael Ruiz de Castañeda, Head of One Health Unit, Institute of Global Health,
UNIGE
Laurence Vial, researcher, CIRAD, France
Laure Guerrini, researcher, CIRAD
Francois Roger, researcher, France
Serge Morand, researcher, CNRS
Melissa Marx, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Thomas C. Mettenleiter, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult., President (retired), Friedrich-Loeffler-
Institut
Jean-Loup Rault, Professor of Animal Welfare Science, University of Veterinary
Medicine Vienna
Nguyen Thi Dien, researcher, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Vietnam
Jean-Hugues Caffin, Chercheur CIRAD UMR ASTRE, Sénégal
Rebeca Pérez-Flores, lecturer, UNAM, México
Diego Urena, teacher, Mexico
Patrick Giraudoux, Professeur émérite d’écologie, Université Marie et Louis Pasteur,
France
Thomas Balenghien, entomologiste, France
Mohamed Gharbi, Professor of parasitology, Tunisia
Julien Cappelle, Disease Ecologist, CIRAD, France
Pham Duc Phuc, Director, Institute of Environmental Health and Sustainable
Development, Vietnam
Anne-Laure Bañuls, Directrice de Recherche à l’IRD, MIVEGEC, Université de
Montpellier, IRD, CNRS, Montpellier, France
Professor Alex D. Greenwood, Head of Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz
Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Germany
Richard Njouom, Head Virology Department, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Cameroon
Susanna Sternberg Lewerin, Programme Director SLU Future One Health, Swedish
University of Agricultural Sciences
Quang Huy NGUYEN, Deputy Director, Department of Life Sciences, University of
Science and Technology of Hanoi
Ida Savadogo, Health activist, Burkina Faso
Jenni Lehtimäki, Principal researcher, Finnish Environment Institute
Desire NTEDE, Development Expert & Researcher, Cameroon
Noore Alam, Advanced Epidemiologist, Queensland Health, Australia
Ximena Tolosa, infectious Diseases Epidemiologist, Australia
Oumnia Himmi, researcher, Institut scientifique, Université Mohammed V de Rabat
Tawanda Tarakini, Deputy Dean, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe
Jessica Abbate, Research Scientist, Geomatys, France
Debapriyo Chakraborty, Senior Scientist, Geomatys SAS, France
Katharina Kreppel, Asst. Professor, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp
Araya Prasertchai, Lecturer, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Thailand
Ouafaa Fassi Fihri, Head of Vet School, Morocco
Ghazi Kayali, Researcher, Lebanon
Michael Tong, Senior Research Fellow, Australian National University, Australia
Angela L. Rasmussen, Principal Scientist, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization,
University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Gunter Kathagen, Scientific expert, Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and
Social Dialogue, Belgium
Jane Megid, professor, school of veterinary medicine and animal science-Unesp, Brazil
Sarah Olson, Wildlife Conservation Society
Alexandre Caron, director of research, Cirad, ILRI, Kenya
Sandul Yasobant, Asst. Professor, Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, India
Mohamed Naceur Baccar, Centre National de Veille Zoosanitaire, Tunisia Alexandra
Finch LLM, Senior Associate, O’Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law at
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC USA
Julio A. Benavides, Senior Researcher in One Health, IRD, France
Margherita Gomarasca, Coordinator, Vétérinaires Sans Frontières International,
Belgium
Pr Jean Gaudart, PU-PH, Public Health & Biostatistics, Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, INSERM,
Sesstim UMR1252, Faculté des Sciences Médicales et Paramédicales, Marseille
Laurent DALMAS, Associate Prof. in Environmental and Health Economics, SOURCE
(IRD-University of Versailles SQY- Paris Saclay), France
Nicolas Lainé, chargé de recherche, IRD, France
Nicolas, Moiroux, Researcher, French Research Institute for Sustainable Development
(IRD), France
Eve Miguel, researcher at IRD, France
Marc Leandri, Associate Professor, UVSQ-Université Paris Saclay
Joseph Larmarange, demographer, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement,
France
Dr. Reginald Thomas, One Health, Practioner
Gian Luca Burci, Senior Visiting Professor of International Law, Geneva Graduate
Institute
Pr Alpha Kabinet KEITA, chercheur, Centre de Recherche et de Formation en
Infectiologue de Guinee, Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry
Babatunde Balogun, researcher, University of Tasmania, Australia
Sam Halabi, Professor, Georgetown University, United States
Luc venance Kouakou,Assistant teacher, Côte d’Ivoire
Edwige Michèle N’GORAN, chercheuse, Côte d’Ivoire
Nonito Pages, researcher, CIRAD, France
Jean Albergel, emeritus researcher at IRD, Univ of Montpellier
Dorothée Missé, researcher, France
Anna Bezruki, Doctoral Candidate, Georgetown University, United States of America
Marlies Hesselman, Assist. Prof, Groningen Centre for Health Law
Frederic Simard, Researcher, IRD, Montpellier, France
Odalys Uffo Reinosa, Director of science, innovation and postgraduate studies, CENSA,
Cuba
Omar N’Gala DIOP, Directeur Qualité – Conseil en amélioration des services de santé
(Paris)
Tony BIO, PHD, Senegal
Alan P. Dargantes, VP for RDE, Central Mindanao University, Philippines
Jorge Francisco Monroy-López, professor, National Autonomous University of Mexico
Paul Cadogan, veterinarian, Jamaica
Dr Andrea Britton, Director and One Health Advisor, Ultimate Efficacy Consulting,
Australia
Anne Conan, Researcher in Epidemiology, Cirad, France
Florian Liegeois, Chercheur, France
Sabrina Locatelli, IRD representative in Lao PDR
Laurent Granjon, researcher, IRD
Delphine Luquet, Head of Bios Department, Cirad
Jean-Mathieu Bart, researcher, UMR Intertryp France / Ministry of Health Guinea
Catherine Moulia, Professeure, Univ. of Montpellier, France
Bruno Guinand, associate professor, University of Montpellier, France
Teola Noel, Assistant Lecturer, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of the West
Indies
Camille Besombes, médecin épidémiologiste, médialab Sciences Po
Jules Treuille, Innovation Officer, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement,
France
Yannick Simonin, Professeur d’Université, Université de Montpellier
Nathalie Vachiery, Directrice UMR ASTRE, Cirad
Daan Vink, Chercheur épidémiologiste, Cirad