WOAH launches PREVENT Forum to expand animal vaccination, strengthen disease prevention

FRANCE – The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has launched the PREVENT Forum, a new five-year public-private platform aimed at improving animal disease prevention by expanding access to vaccines and strengthening vaccination strategies globally

The initiative was unveiled during WOAH’s 93rd World Assembly of Delegates and comes amid growing concerns about the economic and food-security impacts of transboundary animal diseases.

The Forum seeks to bring together governments, vaccine manufacturers, regulators, veterinary professionals, producer organisations, donors and intergovernmental agencies in a structured year-round dialogue focused on improving vaccination systems and disease preparedness.

WOAH said the launch follows the release of its flagship report, The State of the World’s Animal Health, which highlighted the urgent need for increased investment in animal health systems to safeguard public health, food production, trade and livelihoods.

According to the organisation, animal diseases currently cost the global economy more than US$300 billion annually, while vaccination rates for most notifiable animal diseases remain below 20%.

Recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), Newcastle disease, and bluetongue have further exposed weaknesses in disease prevention systems and the high costs of delayed responses.

WOAH noted that vaccination, combined with improved biosecurity, surveillance, early detection and rapid response systems, remains one of the most effective approaches for preventing and controlling livestock diseases.

“The PREVENT Forum gives governments and industry a shared space to identify what is holding back progress and to act on it together,” said Dr Emmanuelle Soubeyran, Director-General of WOAH.

“WOAH is proud to convene this effort, and we are committed to ensuring it delivers results for our Members and strengthens animal health systems globally,” she added.

The PREVENT Forum will focus on seven priority areas reflected in its acronym: Planning, Regulatory pathways, Economic evidence, Vaccine access, Equity, National strategies and Trade.

The organisation said these areas represent key barriers to wider vaccine adoption and require closer collaboration between public- and private-sector actors.

Following its first global technical session, scheduled for October 2026, the Forum is expected to develop a global declaration to overcome existing barriers to animal vaccination.

WOAH said expanding access to quality vaccines and improving vaccine uptake could help reduce the risk of disease outbreaks, protect livestock-dependent livelihoods, improve food security and support efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

WOAH pushes for phase-out of lead ammunition

Alongside its focus on disease prevention, WOAH has also intensified calls for countries to phase out the use of lead ammunition in hunting, warning that it poses serious risks to wildlife, human health and ecosystems.

“Lead is a potent and persistent neurotoxin that presents significant, avoidable risks to the health of wildlife, humans, and the environment,” WOAH said.

The organisation added that there is “no known safe level of lead exposure,” making the continued use of lead ammunition a major concern for biodiversity and public health.

According to WOAH, spent lead ammunition is a major cause of wildlife mortality, particularly among waterbirds and scavenging species that ingest lead fragments from hunted carcasses.

The organisation also warned that microscopic lead particles can contaminate game meat consumed by humans, posing particular health risks for children and pregnant women.

WOAH is encouraging governments and industry to promote safer alternatives such as steel, copper, bismuth and tungsten ammunition, which it says are increasingly available and cost-competitive.

“The transition to these materials is a proven solution that allows hunting to continue while stopping the accumulation of a toxic element in soils, wetlands, and the wider landscape,” WOAH stated.

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