Animal Health AMR R&D Is Falling Behind at a Critical Moment

The Global AMR R&D Hub has released a new factsheet showing how public and philanthropic funders globally have invested in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research and development for animal health between 2017 and 2026.

Drawing on funding data from the Hub’s Dynamic Dashboard, the analysis provides a detailed picture of where animal health AMR R&D funding is going, which research areas are being prioritised, and where persistent gaps remain across the global innovation landscape.

The findings comes at a pivotal time. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has released its State of the World’s Animal Health 2026 report, warning that animal health systems remain chronically underfunded despite escalating risks from infectious diseases, AMR and transboundary animal diseases. WOAH calls for stronger and sustained investment in prevention, surveillance, innovation, biosecurity, and veterinary services to protect health, livelihoods and food systems.

“Few investments do more to prevent global crises than timely investment in animal health” 

WOAH, 2026

The Hub’s findings reinforce this message. Although AMR is widely recognised as a major One Health challenge, only 7.3% of global AMR R&D funding from public and philanthropic sources is directed toward animal health — equivalent to ~73 cents for every USD 10 invested in AMR R&D globally. Since 2017, approximately USD 1.4 billion has been invested in animal health AMR R&D across 3,001 projects supported by 166 funders, based on data available as at 15 June 2026.

What the Data Reveals

• Funding momentum has slowed.

Annual public and philanthropic investment in animal health AMR R&D peaked in 2019–2020 and has since declined, even as AMR pressures and animal health threats continue to grow.

• Operational research leads investment.

Operational research — activities that aid in decision making and management strategies — receives the largest share of investment, accounting for 32% of total animal health AMR R&D funding. Basic research follows with 19%, while product development as a whole — including vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, promotants, preventives, and other products — accounts for around one third of total funding.

• Pathogen coverage is uneven.

Bacterial pathogens dominate the portfolio (68%), with projects targeting Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and Mycobacterium species attracting a key share of the investment. However, a large share of funding remains linked to unspecified bacteria (29%) or unspecified infectious agents (20%).

• Funding is highly concentrated.

A small group of funders drives the majority of investment. The top five funders provide nearly 60% of all public and philanthropic AMR R&D funding for animal health. This concentration highlights the need to broaden and diversify the funding base to ensure long-term stability, resilience, and innovation. Funding is also geographically concentrated, with the largest shares flowing to beneficiaries in Europe and the Americas. More limited investment reaches beneficiaries in Africa, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.

• Universities remain central to the research ecosystem.

Universities receive more than half of all animal health AMR R&D funding. This confirms academia’s central role in advancing AMR science, while also pointing to opportunities to strengthen engagement with SMEs, industry, and other innovation partners needed to translate research into practical tools.

• Investment is concentrated in selected animal sectors.

Most funding supports livestock (40%), poultry (21%), and unspecified (26%) animal sectors. More limited investment is directed toward aquaculture (9%), companion animals (2%), wildlife (1%), and other animal groups, even as these sectors become increasingly relevant for AMR surveillance, prevention, and control.

A Shared Call to Action

The Hub’s data and WOAH’s global assessment deliver a unified message: the world must scale up and strategically target AMR R&D in animal health. Strengthening cross-sector collaboration, diversifying funding sources, and supporting end-to-end innovation pipelines will be essential to deliver the tools needed to safeguard health across sectors.

Through its Dynamic Dashboard and analytical outputs, the Global AMR R&D Hub continues to improve transparency, identify investment gaps, and support evidence-based decision making across the global AMR R&D ecosystem.

Visit our Dynamic Dashboard or contact us for more information.