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World Bank
aims for $1.2 bln at bird flu meeting By Lindsay Beck The Star, 17 Jan 2006 |
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BEIJING (Reuters) - The World Bank aims to raise $1.2 billion to fight bird flu, Vice President Jim Adams said on Monday, the eve of a global donor conference in Beijing tasked with securing the resources needed to combat the deadly virus. The money will mostly be aimed at improving health and veterinary services in developing countries grappling with outbreaks, and at strengthening surveillance programmes in areas not yet affected.
"We'd like to mobilize somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.2 billion. We think that's an achievable target," said Adams. "If that's done, it will give a very powerful message to countries that are affected that there is an international commitment to addressing their issues and to put in place financing for their programmes," he told Reuters. The virus is already endemic across parts of Asia and scientists fear the H5N1 strain could mutate from a disease that affects mostly birds into one that can pass easily between |
people, leading to a human pandemic. Already it has killed 79 people since 2003 and infected nearly 150. Human victims had been confined to East Asia until recently, when three infected children died in eastern Turkey, bringing the virus to the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. "There is more virus all over the globe, and there is a higher chance that at a certain moment the virus will start changing itself into something easily transmittable between humans," said Henk Bekedam, the World Health Organization’s chief representative in China. The World Bank estimates that between $1.2 and $1.4 billion will be needed to prepare for and respond to outbreaks, although that could rise with larger culling programmes. The amount also does not include human vaccines, which Adams said the WHO deals with separately. The Bank itself approved a $500 million line of credit last week toward the $1.2 billion target, and the European Union has pledged $100 million in aid. Representatives from 89 countries -- both aid donors and recipients -- will be attending the conference, along with delegates from more than 20 international organizations, including the WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization. Adams said he hoped the money raised in Beijing would be mostly in the form of grants. |
"The rationale for grant funding is very strong. This is a global problem. Countries cannot isolate themselves. You can't prevent the overflight of migratory birds that are affected." Migrating birds are thought to be responsible for the spread of the virus between regions, although the transport of live poultry -- which is likely to increase in China and Vietnam during Lunar New Year holidays at the end of January -- could also play a role. The WHO's Bekedam said bird flu was testing the local health and surveillance systems of poor countries, and he hoped the money raised at the Jan. 17-18 Beijing conference could help plug those holes. "The real challenges are still at the grassroots level, and the capacity there remains very limited," Bekedam said of China. China, which is hosting the conference, is seen as a key battleground for fighting bird flu because it is home to the world's biggest poultry population, the bulk of which live in backyard farms where they have close contact with people. Last year it saw more than 30 outbreaks of the disease in domestic poultry and the WHO has confirmed eight human cases in China, five of whom died. (Additional reporting by Chris Buckley) |
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