January 31, 2006—The international community has pledged a total amount of $1.9 billion dollars to fight avian influenza and prepare for a possible human influenza pandemic. The pledges were made at the International Ministerial Pledging Conference on Avian and Human Pandemic Influenza in Beijing, China. The World Bank co-sponsored the conference with the government of the People’s Republic of China and the European Commission. EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner, Markos Kyprianou, described the US$1.9 billion in pledges as a “significant achievement.” “We have surpassed expectations by considerably exceeding the estimated overall financing gap of around US$1.2 billion, of which $1 billion is in grants,” Kyprianou said. The World Bank has already pledged up to $500 million from a global funding program to help countries combat avian flu, with the program’s concept already endorsed by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. “To prevent the spread of avian flu, we need leadership at the highest levels to deliver programs that address both animal and human health concerns, while also preparing for a possible human pandemic,” World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz says. “These programs must include sufficient financing to support the culling of infected birds, and compensation for farmers who surrender their sick birds. And it is vital that donors coordinate their efforts to provide the maximum help possible to ensure successful implementation.” The new Bank funding program is designed to allow countries to access funding on short notice to strengthen their veterinarian and health services to deal with avian flu outbreaks among animals, and minimize the threat posed to people, and prepare for, and respond to, any potential human flu pandemic. The Kyrgyz Republic is expected to be the first country to obtain financing under the new program. Bank officials have been working on a project for the Kyrgyz Republic worth about US$5 million. The Head of the Bank’s Avian Flu Taskforce, Jim Adams, says the Bank’s new funding program will allow poor countries immediate access to funding to carry out national programs to control bird flu. Adams says it’s designed to be a flexible funding mechanism, also allowing donors who pledge money in Beijing to combine their grant funding with Bank-supported operations to reduce the overall cost. “There are on-going discussions with a number of countries – in Africa, Eastern Europe, and in Asia. Turkey has already approached us and we’ve done some technical work and those discussions are on-going and we expect further talks in Beijing.” |
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