EUP AH&W - European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare

The European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare (EUP AH&W) is a co-funded partnership of Horizon Europe (2021-2027), the framework program for funding Research and Innovation (R&I). This partnership, formed at the initiative of the European Commission, aims to provide society with guarantees on the control of infectious animal diseases through appropriate means, with prudent use of antimicrobials, and respect and improvement of animal welfare. EUP AH&W wants to contribute to sustainable animal husbandry and the protection of animals, public health and the environment.

The partnership brings together 56 national and international organisations that carry out research in the field of animal health and welfare, and 30 funding organisations from 24 countries in the European Union and outside the Union.

The participation of Portuguese entities is ensured by the FCT and the National Institute for Agricultural and Veterinary Research (INIAV).

Objectives of EUP AH&W

EUP AH&W pursues two general objectives:

• contribute to improving the control of infectious animal diseases and strengthen the preparation of all stakeholders;
• putting animal welfare at the forefront of animal production.

These general objectives gave rise to four specific ones:

• facilitate cooperation between all relevant stakeholders in the prevention and control of infectious animal diseases and in the monitoring of animal welfare;
• boost research and increase the evidence base to develop products and tools for animal disease control and animal welfare monitoring;
• improve cooperation and intersectoral collaboration ( One Health/One Welfare perspective);
• strengthen the dissemination and acceptance of the project's results to social, political and private stakeholders.

The general and specific objectives have been transposed into operational objectives that will generate impacts to be achieved by 2031. These operational objectives are grouped into five priority, successive and multidisciplinary areas, from the detection and characterisation of health and well-being problems to actions on the ground for prevention and recovery.

The partnership will organise internal R&I actions and launch calls to fund R&I projects to achieve these objectives, which can be found in the EUP AH&W Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda.