Vienna/Geneva, 15 April 2025 – Global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS celebrates the breakthrough of the Pandemic Agreement with One Health and pandemic prevention finally embedded into a legally binding international instrument on health. After more than three years of intense negotiations, the draft text of the Pandemic Agreement will now require a final seal of approval from all WHO members at the World Health Assembly in Geneva at the end of May. The treaty presents a historic moment for global health. It anchors the One Health approach, that acknowledges the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health in an international legally binding instrument for the first time and commits Member States to preventing pandemics at source by tackling the root causes of disease outbreaks, which are largely connected to how humans treat animals.

“Today marks a pivotal day for global health. By embedding One Health and prevention at source into the Pandemic Agreement, Member States are finally acknowledging what science has long confirmed: we cannot prevent future pandemics without improving how we treat animals and our environment in the present. This is a paradigm shift in the scope of global health policy and a victory for animals, for people, and for the planet,” says Nina Jamal, Head of Pandemics and Campaign Strategies at FOUR PAWS.

“We want to thank all negotiators who worked diligently to maintain strong language on prevention at source and the One Health approach as the agreement moves toward finalisation in May 2025. FOUR PAWS will continue to advocate for improving animal welfare standards globally, including ending high-risk commercial wildlife trade and fur farming, reducing demand for intensive animal farming and limiting environmental degradation, key drivers of zoonotic disease emergence,” concludes Jamal.

More on FOUR PAWS’ work for more animal welfare and pandemic prevention can be found here.