Investing Before Outbreaks: The Growing Economic Case for One Health

Zoonotic outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance and other infectious diseases are not only health emergencies; they can disrupt food production, strain hospitals, weaken livelihoods and leave governments carrying enormous economic losses for years. The economic cost of zoonotic and other infectious diseases already reaches billions of US dollars annually. World Bank estimates suggest antimicrobial resistance (AMR) alone could reduce global gross domestic product by around 3.8% by 2050, strengthening the case for greater investment in prevention before health threats become expensive crises.

A new brief from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Investment Centre, prepared in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), explores the financial and economic case for investing in One Health.

Prevention can cost less than responding to major outbreaks

One Health recognizes that many health threats do not remain within a single sector, since infections can move between animals and people while environmental degradation, changing ecosystems, food systems and human activity can influence how diseases emerge and spread. Coordinated investment allows public health agencies, veterinary services, environmental authorities, food-system actors and other institutions to identify risks earlier and respond without working in isolation.

The brief points to several potential economic benefits, including lower health-care costs, reduced disease burdens, less environmental contamination and slower spread of antimicrobial resistance. Stronger veterinary services and animal disease surveillance are particularly important because identifying threats closer to their source can prevent them from developing into wider public health and economic emergencies.

Baba Soumare, WOAH Deputy Director General, describes animal health as one of the most effective entry points for prevention, with stronger veterinary systems, surveillance, and cross-sector cooperation protecting animals while also safeguarding people, ecosystems, and economies.

One investment can deliver benefits across several sectors

Spending on animal health, food systems, environmental protection and public health can reinforce each other when programmes are designed around shared risks. This creates the possibility of generating greater value from available resources than separate interventions that address only one part of a connected health challenge.

Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, food insecurity and socioeconomic vulnerability are adding further complexity to these risks. FAO Assistant Director-General Thanawat Tiensin argues that their interconnected nature makes integrated prevention increasingly important, with One Health offering a framework for addressing multiple pressures rather than treating each problem independently.

The brief is designed for policymakers, One Health practitioners and financing institutions, providing an assessment of investment barriers and opportunities while reviewing existing evidence on financial and economic returns. It also identifies gaps where stronger data are still needed to show investors and governments which interventions provide the greatest value.

Limited investment remains a major challenge

Recognition of One Health has grown internationally, yet funding for programmes built around the approach remains limited. Mohamed Manssouri, Assistant Director-General and Director of the FAO Investment Centre, stresses the need for stronger quantitative evidence and greater support for governments seeking to translate One Health priorities into practical investment plans.

Building that evidence could make it easier for finance ministries, development institutions and private investors to compare One Health programmes with competing investment priorities. Clearer estimates of avoided health expenditure, productivity losses, livestock damage and other economic impacts could also strengthen political support for prevention spending whose benefits may not become immediately visible.

WHO Assistant Director-General Dr Jeremy Farrar has similarly emphasized the importance of strengthening evidence on the impact and return on investment of One Health interventions, providing a stronger scientific and economic foundation for turning international commitments into action.

Financing systems need to support prevention for the long term

Scaling One Health will require more than individual projects, with the brief highlighting the need for institutional arrangements and financing mechanisms capable of supporting sustainable interventions from community programmes to national and global initiatives. Governments will also need ways to coordinate budgets and responsibilities across agencies that have traditionally worked separately.

The publication forms part of the FAO Investment Centre's Innovation and Knowledge for Investment series and builds on previous FAO work around One Health, including studies developed with the World Bank in Asia and the Pacific on strengthening investment in livestock health and wildlife systems.

For countries facing rising disease, climate and environmental risks, the economic argument is becoming increasingly important: investing before an outbreak occurs can protect health while also preserving livelihoods, food systems, public finances and economic stability.