Asian countries struggling with bird flu need US$102 million from international donors as soon as possible to bring the disease under control and stave off the threat of a human pandemic, UN officials said yesterday.
Governments, especially in Vietnam and Indonesia, require the money to revamp health surveillance systems, vaccinate poultry and train veterinary experts over the next three years, said Joseph Domenech, the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) chief veterinary officer.
"This is an emergency task to prevent a human pandemic," Domenech told reporters during a three-day UN conference on bird flu co-organized by the FAO, the World Health Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The FAO and OIE jointly released a document yesterday to be distributed to potential donors, mainly the US and European countries, outlining why international funding is crucial between now and 2008.
Exact figures for the funds raised or pledged so far remain unavailable, but Domenech indicated that the amount was between US$10 million and US$20 million.
The bird-flu virus has swept through poultry populations in East and Southeast Asia.
Tens of millions of chickens have either died or been slaughtered, while 54 people have died in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia since late 2003 after coming into contact with the infected animals.
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