World Health Day 2026: Nine EU4Health grants setting up a coordinated surveillance system for cross-border pathogens

On World Health Day, the World Health Organisation and the global health community highlight the importance of taking a One Health (OH) approach, which recognises the interconnection between people, animals, plants and their shared environment and ecosystems.  

The majority of new emerging infectious diseases that affect humans are zoonoses, infections that can be transmitted between animals and humans. Pressing need for more rapid and effective responses to zoonotic diseases, can be achieved with a OH approach. 

With EU4Health funding in the form of nine direct grants, 22 EU countries and Norway are setting up a coordinated surveillance system, under a OH approach, for cross-border (zoonotic) pathogens that threaten the Union. This EU co-funded action focuses on the detection of pathogens which pose cross-border health risk and strengthens the anticipation of potential health threats and response capacity. 

Approaching the end of the funding period in December 2026, the results are already tangible. Together, the participating countries have: 

• Significantly improved the implementation of surveillance for priority pathogens under the OH approach;
• Strengthened the countries’ early warning capacity and improved the evidence-based risk assessments with more than 400 capacity building initiatives, including on OH surveillance coordination, sampling schemes and testing methods/protocols, OH data collection and assessment;
• Established OH surveillance data sharing with the European Food Safety Authority, which:
  • Made OH surveillance results available to all EU countries;
  • Enabled data analysis at EU level, identification of signals/trends on priority pathogens in animals and the environment, as well as better understanding of current and future health risks. 

Among these nine grants, the OH4Surveillance project, which involves 11 countries, has so far: 

• Successfully established seven working groups with in-person workshops on West Nile Virus and mosquito identification held;
• Begun surveillance activities in all participating countries, covering pathogens and diseases including Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, West Nile Virus, and Q-fever;
• Organised multiple training and capacity-building activities, including laboratory trainings, surveillance and laboratory protocols development;
• Reduced silos and improved OH surveillance information sharing across sectors (human health, animal health, environmental health). 

Background 

EU4Health is the fourth and largest of the EU health programmes. The EU4Health programme goes beyond an ambitious response to the COVID-19 crisis to address the resilience of European healthcare systems. The programme provides funding to national authorities, health organisations and other bodies through grants and public procurement, contributing to a healthier Europe. 

HaDEA manages the vast majority of the total EU4Health budget and implements the programme by managing calls for proposals and tenders from 2021 to 2027.