Key international initiative VECT-OH

A global alliance for sustainable risk mitigation in a one-health approach.

The key international initiative ‘VECT-OH: A Global Alliance for Sustainable Vector Risk Mitigation in a One Health Approach is being developed at the University as part of the UM2030 project, winner of the "Integration and Development of IdEx and ISITE" (IDeES) Call for Projects. The initiative aims to mobilize and unite the international scientific community around the key challenges and major issues related to insect and arthropod vectors and the diseases they transmit to humans, animals, and plants. The consortium formed around UM's partner universities promotes integrative research, applying the "One Health" approach to the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases. Its ambition is to transcend traditional bilateral collaborations by identifying cross-cutting issues with high added value that can be applied at the regional level and bring together donors and stakeholders for sustainable vector risk management in the context of climate change. The scientific priority is vector risk associated with urban (re)vegetation, in line with the expertise represented within the consortium and the agendas of local partners in the regions where the consortium is based.

Objectives

The VECT-OH initiative aims to:

• Build, unite, and lead a research and expertise community focused on vectors and vector-borne diseases, prioritizing integrative, interdisciplinary, and cross-sector approaches between human, animal, plant, and environmental public health.  
• Support local research activities on the subject in order to develop synergies between teams and promote standardized and reproducible approaches.
• Seek external funding to develop international research activities.
• Generate the scientific evidence and tools necessary for public policy makers to make decisions for sustainable vector risk management.

The initiative offers:

• Funding opportunities for local research activities on the topic
• Opportunities for sharing data and experiences between partners
• The development of an international community of actors on the theme
• Opportunities to publish scientific and technical documents for various audiences,
• International visibility for the research topic, the chance to take part in international events, and a networking opportunity for young researchers.

Program

The consortium organizes a workshop that takes place every year in person in Montpellier.

In 2022, the first workshop identified the issue of vector risk associated with the (re)vegetation of cities as a priority area for research and the drafting of a roadmap to bring together all stakeholders on the topic, one of the first points of which is to conduct a systematic review of the literature on the relationships between urban vegetation, vectors, and vector risk.

The 2023 workshop combined field visits to compare the experimental protocols used by the various partners to monitor vector populations, and collective discussions on the standardization of protocols, which led to the joint development of a collective response to a Biodiversa+ call for projects involving all eligible partners.

The 2024 workshop was organized alongside the 23rd conference of the European Society for Vector Ecology, which brought together more than 450 participants in Montpellier around the theme "One Health in Action."

This workshop provided an opportunity to review local initiatives, finalize the consortium's first joint publication, and draft the Biodivecity project, which was selected in response to the Biodiversa+ 2024 call for projects.

During the 2025 workshop, we first welcomed participants from the Climate Café project, which aims to map nature-based solutions in cities around the world, and were able to map more than 80 such solutions in Montpellier. We then held the annual meeting of the Biodivecity project, which began in April 2025, during which we were able to finalize the standardized protocols thanks to a field simulation.

The actors

The initiative ‘VECT-OH: A Global Alliance for Sustainable Vector Risk Mitigation in a One Health Approach brings together research teams from seven universities and research institutes in the North and South, longstanding strategic partners of the UM, working on the theme of vectors and vector risk. All partners are involved in collaborative research projects and pool their experience, expertise, and resources to jointly develop and promote innovative and unifying areas of research. The consortium is open to other research teams and institutional partners wishing to join.    

Governance

The VECT-OH initiative is led from Montpellier by Frédéric Simard (DR IRD, DU MIVEGEC) and Mathilde Mercat (Postdoc UM). Coordination of the various research activities supported by the initiative is entrusted to the various partners, who meet regularly remotely and at least once a year in person in Montpellier.

7 Partners

• Europe
  • University of Montpellier (UM), FR
  • University of Barcelona (UB), Spain
  • Netherlands Institute for Vectors, Invasive Plants and Plant Health (NIVIP), NL
  • Wageningen University and Research (WUR), Netherlands
• North America
  • University of California Davis (UC Davis), USA
• Africa
  • Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD), SN
  • Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine (IAV Hassan II), MA

Productions

• Posters presenting the VECT-OH initiative at the E-Sove 2024 conference
• Scoping review on vector risk and urban greening: Mercat, M., Bartholomée, C., Fournet, F., Alcover Amengual, M., Bourquia, M., Bouhsira, E., … & Simard, F. (2025). Green cities and the risk for vector-borne disease transmission for humans and animals: a scoping review. Peer Community Journal, 5.

Current projects

• BiodiVecity (April 2025-April 2028) (WUR, NIVIP, UM, UB, IAV): Impact of different levels of urban vegetation on vectors and vector-borne diseases.