WOAH launches $300bn prevention forum

The World Organisation for Animal Health, or WOAH, launched the PREVENT Forum in Paris on May 19, opening a five-year public-private platform aimed at strengthening animal-disease prevention through wider use of vaccines. The launch came during WOAH’s 93rd World Assembly of Delegates, which runs from May 18 to May 22 and brings together 183 member countries, according to the organization. WOAH said the forum is intended to improve access to quality animal vaccines and support more strategic use of them in national animal-health systems. The organization linked the effort to annual global economic losses from animal diseases that it said exceed $300 billion, and said better-resourced animal-health systems are needed to protect food security, trade, livelihoods and human health. (woah.org) ### What exactly is PREVENT supposed to do? The PREVENT Forum is designed as a public-private dialogue mechanism focused primarily on vaccination, WOAH said in its launch statement. The body said the initiative will work on planning, regulatory pathways, economic evidence, vaccine access, equity, national strategies and trade barriers tied to animal vaccination. (woah.org) A 2025 resolution adopted by WOAH members set the groundwork for the forum, according to the event materials. WOAH said the goal is to move animal-health systems toward more proactive disease prevention by 2030 rather than relying mainly on outbreak response. ### Why is H5N1 part of this story? (woah.org) The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza is present in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in U.S. domestic birds and dairy cattle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the virus has also produced sporadic human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers, while maintaining that the current public-health risk remains low. (registration.generalsession.woah.org) Contagion Live wrote that the U.S. response has weakened amid leadership changes at the CDC and cuts to public-health resources. The publication said the outbreak, first detected in dairy cattle in early 2024, has continued spreading among dairy cows, poultry and wild birds while drawing less public attention. ### How are U.S. officials framing the threat? (aphis.usda.gov) Senator Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, introduced legislation on May 21 to formalize and expand coordination between the Department of War and the Department of Agriculture on food security and agricultural biosecurity. The bill would codify and expand an existing memorandum of understanding between the two departments, according to reports citing the measure. (contagionlive.com) Banks said, “Protecting America’s food supply is part of protecting our national security,” according to local reports on the bill. Representative Mark Messmer introduced companion legislation in the House, those reports said. ### What has the U.S. government already done? (hoosieragtoday.com) The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on February 11 that USDA and the Department of War were advancing parts of a National Farm Security Action Plan launched in July 2025. USDA said the plan elevated American agriculture as a national-security issue and involved Secretary Rollins, Secretary Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. (wbiw.com) That places the Banks bill alongside a broader push in Washington to treat animal health, food supply protection and farm security as connected policy areas. WOAH’s forum, meanwhile, is being positioned as an international vehicle for prevention, with its first workstreams centered on vaccine access and use. (usda.gov) ### What comes next? May 22 is the final day of WOAH’s 93rd World Assembly of Delegates in Paris, where the PREVENT Forum was launched and discussed in session materials. In Washington, the next formal step for the Banks measure will be committee consideration in the Senate and House, where Messmer is backing the House version. (woah.org 1) (woah.org 2)