AVESA

Foot and mouth disease has recently caused unprecedented outbreaks in Southern Africa. The spread of New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasitic fly, is also raising concern, with tens of thousands of cases reported across Central America. Lumpy skin disease reached Western Europe for the first time. Worldwide, avian influenza recorded over thousands of outbreaks in animals, spreading to new species and new areas. At the same time, the financing landscape on which prevention programmes depend is contracting significantly. What the evidence shows is not comfortable reading. More than 20% of global animal production is lost to preventable disease every year. Annually, less than US$ 1 billion in development aid reaches Veterinary Services and zoonotic disease prevention. Less than 2.5% of a shrinking global health aid budget is currently directed at the frontline of pandemic prevention. Read more about what we can do correct this imbalance in the State of the World's Animal Health report: woah.org/app/uploads/2026/05…