WORLD MICROBIOME PARTNERSHIP SUMMIT 2025
On June 20, 2025, Paris hosted the One Health World Microbiome Partnership Summit, a landmark event that brought together around one hundred participants in person and more online. The summit convened leading researchers in the microbiome field alongside influential figures from the industrial, political, and civil society sectors. Rooted in a One Health perspective, the summit aimed to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration on critical issues such as sustainable food systems, global health, and environmental resilience.
A key outcome of the day was the signing of the Paris Declaration, a collective commitment to advancing microbiome science as a lever for innovation, policy, and equitable global development.
Welcome to the World Microbiome Partnership
The term “microbiome” refers to all micro-organisms, which live with and are integral to the health of humans, animals, plants, and to soils, oceans and other ecosystems.
These microbial members include commensal and pathogenic bacteria, viruses, bacteriophage and fungi, which function together as communities and interact with their hosts and/or in habitats. It is understanding their diverse metabolic capabilities as well as their genetic potential which is at the heart of microbiome studies.
The World Microbiome Partnership (WMP)
The World Microbiome Partnership is an international forum, formally established in 2023, bringing together interested parties across the microbiome field in academia, industry, foundations and government to promote strategic partnerships and to harmonize development of microbiome-based biomarkers, products, and interventions in the service of human, plant, animal, and planetary health.
The WMP will establish a global model of cooperation and collaboration to address scientific, regulatory and structural obstacles for enabling microbiome-based applications to support and sustain health. As a founding principle of its programs and initiatives, the WMP will embrace the ‘One Health” concept which recognizes the linkages between the health of humans, and planetary health.
Vision & Mission
- A. To bring together professionals across the broader microbiome field: The conveying power of the WMP will bring together experts across the globe around the jointly held interest of identifying and resolving obstacles in the microbiome field in order to preserve and promote planetary health.
- B. To facilitate innovative partnerships across the WMP membership:
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- 1) establish concrete academia-government-foundation partnerships for translational microbiome research
- 2) catalyze long-term industry-academia-foundation partnerships for innovative cross-training in microbiome research and product development,
- 3) advocate for government-industry-foundation partnerships to promote joint funding for start-up companies in the microbiome area.
- 4) promote a microbiome curriculum for universities and medical schools to educate the next generation of microbiome professionals
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- C. To inform and promote a harmonized global regulatory process for microbiome products for the clinic and the market.
The WMP will provide the scientific expertise needed to establish criteria for the development of a global regulatory process. These coordinated actions will smooth the pathway for regulation of microbiome-based biomarkers, products, and interventions.
The OHHLEP “One Health” concept
The One Health approach, as described by the UN’s One Health High Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP), is a holistic strategy that seeks to harmonize and enhance the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems in a sustainable way. It emphasizes the interconnectedness and interdependence of human, animal, plant, and environmental health. This perspective is crucial for organizations like the WHO, FAO, WOAH, UNEP, and the US CDC in tackling challenges such as infectious diseases, expanding habitats of disease carriers, antibiotic resistance, food safety, environmental pollution, and climate change.
The WMP integrates microorganisms into “One Health”
Microorganisms are crucial to the health of all living beings. The WMP recommends that the definition of “One Health” be expanded to include the integral role of microbes and microbial communities in human, plant, animal and ecosystem health. The WMP is founded on the understanding that microorganisms support host health as well as planetary health through their metabolic activities, genetic potential and food web functions. As such, the actions of microbial communities should be considered when addressing the health of the Planet
Human
The One Health concept anchors the microbiome at the heart of human health, revealing the linkages between microbial homeostasis and our health and well-being.
This integrated approach offers new perspectives in the battle against emerging diseases and in supporting and maintaining human health.
Animal
In the One Health approach, microbial communities are integral to animal health. As well as serve as a reservoir of microorganisms which can be shared with humans.
This reservoirs can be seen as a key player in the promotion and prevention of zoonotic (animal to human transmission) and anthropogenic (human to animal transmission) diseases
Plant
The One Health concept sheds light on the role of the microbiome in the robustness of plants and the biodiversity of plant systems.
The interactions of microorganisms and plant hosts is crucial for agricultural resilience and food security as well as for the health of ecosystems.
Ecosystems
The One Health approach highlights the integral role of microorganisms in ecosystems. Where they generate and recycle nutrients, serve as a food source.
These microorganism are a repository of innovative metabolic properties. Understanding and leveraging the properties of microbes in ecosystems will ultimately be crucial for sustainable management of our planet.