The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with regional and international partners, launched the Middle East Foot-and-Mouth Disease Prevention and Control Strategy 2026–2030 at a virtual event on 29 September. In its 30 September release, FAO says the strategy covers 14 countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Syrian Arab Republic, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. A regional framework does not replace national programmes; it sets shared priorities and routes for cooperation.

Foot-and-mouth disease is an animal disease affecting cloven-hoofed livestock that can spread across borders with animal movements. FAO says it poses risks to livestock production, food security, livelihoods and trade. The release does not focus on a single current outbreak or publish a case count. It instead points to recurring cross-border transmission risks and differences among countries in surveillance, vaccination, preparedness and response capacity. The figure of 14 therefore describes the countries in a common work framework; it does not mean an outbreak has been confirmed in all of them.

FAO says that movements of animals and animal products, combined with different national capacities, can create continuing risk. This does not mean that conditions are the same in every country or that every crossing presents an identical risk. If surveillance information is not shared promptly, veterinary systems are not ready or response is delayed, national efforts may have limited reach in the face of regional movement. The strategy’s premise is to align information and preparedness tools across countries. The announcement does not yet measure whether that coordination has reduced disease transmission.

Implementation priorities include regional coordination, stronger national capacity, information sharing, veterinary services, preparedness and response. FAO emphasizes country ownership and sustained partnerships. It also describes the Global Partnership Programme for Transboundary Animal Diseases (GPP-TAD) as a country-owned framework connecting shared priorities with coordinated action and investment. The announcement provides no total strategy budget, country-level funding allocation or annual vaccination target. Those details are important when distinguishing an agreed strategic direction from implementation backed by financing.

At the launch, representatives of FAO, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) and the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD) stressed regional cooperation and technical support. Their participation matters for expertise and coordination, but the announcement does not specify which projects each organization will finance or which activities it will deliver in each country. FAO says the event also discussed technical cooperation, resource mobilization and follow-up. These are planning topics and should not be read as completed field work.

Livestock’s role in agriculture and rural livelihoods shows why disease control is not only a veterinary issue. Prevention and early warning form part of public infrastructure that can reduce potential harm to producers, food supplies and animal trade. The announcement does not quantify outbreak costs, production losses or effects on consumer prices. It therefore cannot support a new food-price forecast or a claim that a particular country has a recent outbreak. The verifiable focus of this story is the regional framework and the capabilities it aims to strengthen.

The strategy’s effect will depend on whether shared intent becomes measurable implementation during 2026–2030. Possible indicators to follow include participation in common reporting, laboratory and veterinary surveillance capacity, vaccination coverage, emergency exercises and the timeliness of information exchange. FAO’s launch release gives no baseline or official numerical target for these areas. They are therefore measures that could be reported transparently in the future, not achievements already established. Later updates should show what has been funded, delivered and measured.