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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
A new brief from FAO, WHO, and WOAH argues that investing in One Health — an integrated approach linking human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health — is both a health and economic imperative. Zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance cost billions annually, yet One Health funding remains limited. The brief calls for stronger evidence, better financing mechanisms, and cross-sector collaboration to scale up prevention and preparedness globally.
A new policy brief from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Investment Centre, co-developed with the WHO and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), is making a compelling economic argument for the One Health approach — the idea that human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health are deeply interconnected and must be managed together.
The brief reviews current evidence on the returns of One Health investments, identifies barriers to scaling them up, and outlines the institutional and financing mechanisms needed to make these interventions sustainable — from community to global levels. Leaders from FAO, WOAH, and WHO all emphasized that while the value of One Health is widely recognized, actual investment remains frustratingly limited, and more quantitative evidence is urgently needed to build political and investor confidence.
By the numbers:
Why it matters: Without coordinated investment across health, agriculture, and environmental sectors, the world remains underprepared for the next pandemic or AMR crisis. One Health offers a proven framework — but it needs funding and political will to deliver at scale.
