China: Bird Flu Conference Aims At Raising Over US$1.2 Bil
Bernama, 18 Jan 2006

BEIJING, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- An international conference kicked off in Beijing Tuesday with the goal of mobilizing US$1.2 billion to US1.4 billion to help developing nations fight avian influenza and a potential flu pandemic, the Kyodo news agency reported.

Gathered together at the two-day conference co-sponsored by China, the World Bank and the European Commission were representatives from over 100 countries and 20 international organizations, it quoted organizers.

The participants are tasked with assessing how much funding is needed to tackle bird flu, pledging financial support and discussing mechanisms to fight the disease.

"No country can be safe in the struggle against avian influenza," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Qiao Zonghuai said at the outset of the conference, while underscoring the need to "control and contain" the disease.

According to Kyodo, the World Bank has said that the world is US$1.2 billion to US$1.4 billion short for dealing with the disease, and that it hopes the conference will amass that amount in pledges.

"The make-or-break point is $1.2 billion to 1.4 billion," World Bank spokesman Phil Hay has said. "We're cautiously optimistic that the international community will come through."

Toward that goal, the World Bank approved a US$500 million line of credit last week.

The European Union, which said last week that it was ready to pledge 80 million euros, is now ready to contribute an additional 20 million euros for research purposes, bringing the total of its contributions to about 100 million euros, or US$120.72 million, an EU spokesman said.

A Japanese government official said Tuesday that in Beijing, Japan will put forward its US$135 million aid package to help Asian countries with the disease. The package was first unveiled at a meeting of Asian leaders in December.

The countries that pledge the funds, whether they be grants or low-interest loans, will be able to provide them bilaterally or multilaterally, the Japanese official said.

The World Bank has said that, while some entities may want to provide the

assistance bilaterally, it stands ready to set up a trust fund to manage the money pledged at the Beijing meeting, should donors request such a measure.

The virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu virus has affected about 150 people and killed about 80 since 2003, according to the World Health Organization.

All of the deaths were in East Asia except for two reported recently in Turkey.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan are among the scheduled speakers for a session Wednesday morning, which will followed by a discussion that is expected to involve about 60 ministers from around the world.-- BERNAMA