Donors Urged to Give US$1.5 Billion to Fight Bird Flu

A UN official (David Nabarro, the UN coordinator on avian and human influenza) in charge of leading the battle against the avian flu outbreak on Wednesday called on donors to contribute around US$1.5 billion at a pledging conference in Beijing next week. Nabarro lauded Vietnam for its bird immunization program and said China had made an important step forward in detection efforts although "a lot more has to be done".

The Beijing conference, scheduled for January 17-18, is sponsored by China, the European Commission and the World Bank. Nabarro made the remarks here as the World Health Organization warned Wednesday that an outbreak of deadly bird flu sweeping across Turkey could become entrenched and spread into nearby states. Read More ....

Source: The Jakarta Post