On April 28th 2025, a global meeting gathered representatives and stakeholders of the second PREACTS project, ASAMCO, under the title “Preventing the Emergence of Zoonotic Pathogens: Sustainable and Locally Adapted Solutions”.
The event highlighted specific regional needs in Central America (Mexico, Costa Rica, and Haiti), Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo), and Asia (Laos and Thailand) for zoonotic disease prevention.
Introduced by Prof. Eric Delaporte (representing the French Research Institute for Development – IRD) and Ali Bety (representing the Agence Française de Développement – AFD, the project’s funder), the meeting provided an ASAMCO overview, outlining its components and cross‐cutting themes structured around the pillars of the PREZODE initiative.
Emphasis was placed on the project’s operational dimension and its anticipated impact in informing and shaping public policy. It also featured a presentation of the key objectives of each region, and emphasized the complementarity with the two other PREACTS projects:
- AfriCam, launched in 2023 and operating in 5 countries in Asia and Africa,
- and the upcoming ASEACA project, that will target Africa, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.
This meeting officially kicked off the project, after a series of regional Kick Off meetings in the concerned regions, and marks a significant step forward in promoting integrated, sustainable strategies for the prevention of zoonotic disease emergence.