France 2030 - PREZODE | Prevention strategies to address the emergence of zoonotic diseases

The emerging infectious diseases (MIE/EID) and nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical (NRBC) threat acceleration strategy launched four years ago and coordinated by the Agence de l’innovation en santé under the France 2030 plan, is intended to make France more prepared to cope with the risks of a new major health crisis. Under the strategy, the PREZODE research programme, run by the Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR) on behalf of the State, will be funding two new interdisciplinary fundamental research projects aimed at identifying prevention solutions to reduce the risks of zoonotic disease emergence.

Two research programmes to make France more prepared to cope with the risks of a new major health crisis

In line with the priority the French State has given to research and innovation under the France 2030 plan and the corresponding health innovation 2030 plan, the MIE/EID strategy has a substantial research component, with two complementary research programmes:

• The MIE/EID research programme, steered by INSERM by means of ANRS I MIE (national EID scientific research agency), should provide a clearer understanding of how to prevent and control infectious disease emergence phenomena, serve to develop counter-measures to diagnose, protect and treat humans, and enable the establishment of health policies based on scientific evidence and tailored to the specific context of the crisis.
• The PREZODE research programme (Preventing Zoonotic Disease Emergence), led by IRD, CIRAD and INRAE, is intended to boost knowledge production and the development of tools to draft innovative emerging zoonotic disease risk reduction and early detection strategies.

Under the PREZODE research programme, the State has already funded nine research projects, for a total of 16 million euros. 

PREZODE research programme, supporting two new research projects to prevent emerging infectious zoonotic diseases 

Continuing this dynamic, a third and last call for proposals was issued in 2025 to support interdisciplinary fundamental research projects aimed at identifying prevention solutions to reduce the risk of zoonotic disease emergence, with three main lines of research:

1. Identifying risk and resilience factors that could be targeted by zoonosis prevention strategies.
2. Co-constructing zoonosis prevention strategies and characterise their epidemiological, sociological, cultural and economic impacts.
3. Understanding the sociocultural factors that could bias prevention strategies or make them ineffective, and assessing their acceptability.

Following the assessment of 13 eligible projects by an international panel of experts, two were selected and will receive a total of almost 3.5 million euros from France 2030. 

The two chosen projects have suggested different prevention strategies targeting a range of pathogens, and have study sites in Africa and Southeast Asia:

CARE - Coordinator: Katherine Worsley-Tonks (Institut Pasteur)  

The CARE project (Community Awareness and Response for Emerging zoonotic outbreaks) aims to improve emerging zoonotic disease prevention by developing and assessing a community-based, integrated participatory approach centring on One Health. Based on the observation that existing prevention strategies are often not sustainable and not sufficiently suited to local situations, CARE proposes working with communities to build flexible risk reduction frameworks, fostering the long-term adoption of prevention measures and improving early case detection. The project will assess the impact of this approach on the associated knowledge of and beliefs surrounding zoonoses, the adoption of preventive behaviour, community monitoring, epidemiological knowledge and cost-benefit ratio. CARE will be rolled out in contrasting ecological, socioeconomic and cultural contexts in Africa (Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe) and France, and will target several pathogens with distinct epidemiological profiles, notably avian influenza, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever and rabies, to test the transferability and robustness of the proposed framework.

France 2030 support budget: € 1 999 177

(Full team list below)

ZOLA - Coordinator: Guillaume FOURNIÉ (INRAE)

This project aims to reduce zoonotic risks in live animal markets, which have been identified as major foci for disease emergence and pathogen transmission, notably avian influenza viruses (AIVs). Moving away from merely adapting standard technical measures, ZOLA suggests an interdisciplinary, participatory approach aimed at co-creating structural interventions that mirror the unique challenges and opportunities of each situation. The project is being rolled out in Bangladesh and Vietnam, and will develop strategies to reduce AIV transmission among the poultry birds on sale and the risks for humans, by combining epidemiology, modelling and social sciences, so as to characterise viral transmission dynamics, commercial networks and the determining factors behind risky behaviour. Lastly, the project will produce an operational roadmap that can be transferred to other market systems and animal-human-environment interfaces, in line with the PREZODE agenda.

France 2030 support budget : € 1 498 726

(Full team list below)

About France 2030 

• France 2030 reflects a dual ambition: to transform key sectors of our economy (energy, automotive industry, aeronautics and space) long term through technological innovation, and position France not just as a player but as a leader in the world of the future. From fundamental research through the emergence of ideas to the production of a new product or service, France 2030 supports the entire life cycle of innovations, right up to their industrialisation.  
• Its scope is unprecedented: 54 billion euros will be invested to ensure that our firms, universities and research organisations achieve successful transition in these strategic sectors. The aim is to enable them to address the ecological and attractiveness challenges of tomorrow's world, and nurture the future champions of our sectors of excellence. France 2030 is defined by two transverse objectives consisting in devoting 50% of its expenditure to decarbonising the economy, and 50% to emerging players that produce innovations without environmentally harmful spending (in the sense of the Do No Significant Harm principle). 
• It is being rolled out collectively: thought out and deployed in association with local and European economic and academic players to determine its strategic orientations and key actions.  To benefit from State aid, project leaders must submit their applications via open, demanding and selective procedures. 
• It is coordinated by the Secrétariat général pour l’investissement on behalf of the Prime Minister, and implemented by the Agence de la transition écologique (ADEME), l’Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR), the Banque publique d’investissement (Bpifrance) and the Banque des Territoires. 

Full team list 

CARE - Coordinator: Katherine Worsley-Tonks (Institut Pasteur)   

Consortium: Hervé Bourhy, Tamara Giles-Vernick, Simon Cauchemez, (Institut Pasteur); Anne Conan, Hélène De Nys, Erwan Sachet (CIRAD); Florian Liégois (IRD); Mathurin Tejiokem, Richard Njouom, Rodrigue Poueme, Cameroon Pasteur Centre (CPC); Antoine Socpa, University of Yaoundé I; Jean Marc Feussom, AU-IBAR; Isaac Tiembre, Institut National d'Hygiène Publique, Ivory Coast; Meite Syndou, Institut Pasteur, Ivory Coast; Vessaly Kallo, Direction des Services Vétérinaires, Ivory Coast; Gift Matope, Vupenyu Dzingirai, University of Zimbabwe.

ZOLA - Coordinator: Guillaume FOURNIÉ (INRAE)

Consortium: Alexis Delabouglise, Flavie Goutard, Séverine Thys, Hoa TT Pham, Daan Vink, Tu Tu Zaw Win (CIRAD);  Julien Malard (IRD); Claire Guinat (INRAE).