Amazon countries strengthen cooperation to tackle emerging zoonotic diseases – PAHO/WHO

Brasilia, Brazil, November 7, 2025 (PAHO) — Nine countries in the Amazon basin and the Darien Corridor agreed on new actions to strengthen regional health security by improving surveillance, preparedness and response to emerging zoonotic diseases, those that can be transmitted from animals to humans. The agreement strengthens regional cooperation under the One Health approach.

During the fourth technical meeting of the Amazon-Darién Network for Emerging Zoonoses with Epidemic Potential (RADE), the partners defined the guidelines for the next RADE Action Plan 2026-2028. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) coordinated the meeting, held in October in Macapá, Brazil, with representatives of the ministries of health, agriculture and environment of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, as well as national and international partners.

This action plan will guide joint efforts on preparedness, surveillance systems, laboratory capacity, modeling and epidemiological intelligence.

The meeting also marked the official launch of RADE, a technical cooperation platform aimed at anticipating and containing zoonotic threats before they become public health emergencies. As part of the Network’s first General Assembly, participants adopted its statute and governance structure, establishing a permanent space for coordination between the human, animal and environmental health sectors.

“Strengthening integrated surveillance in the Amazon and Darien not only protects the countries of South America and the Mesoamerican Isthmus, but also reinforces regional health security against future epidemics and pandemics,” said Sylvain Aldighieri, Director of Prevention, Control and Elimination of Communicable Diseases at PAHO.

In addition, technical working groups were created in four priority areas: laboratory, surveillance, preparedness and intelligence and modeling, along with three cross-cutting pillars focused on cross-sector and international coordination, risk communication and capacity development.

RADE will also promote applied research, technical exchanges between laboratories and joint training of professionals from the nine member countries, promoting mutual learning and strengthening national capacities.

“RADE is emerging as a unique mechanism of transnational and intersectoral cooperation, facilitating the exchange of experiences for the early detection and response to emerging pathogens among the nine member countries,” highlighted Alexander Rosewell, Health Emergencies Advisor of PAHO Brazil, who serves as Technical Secretariat of the Network.

The meeting was supported by the regional PROTECT project, financed by the Pandemic Fund, which aims to strengthen prevention, preparation and response to emerging and re-emerging zoonotic threats in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Amazon-Darién Network is thus consolidated as a strategic mechanism to improve regional health security through the integration of knowledge and capabilities to address emerging zoonotic diseases, one of the main threats to health and sustainable development in Latin America.