Internationally pledged money for bird flu slow to arrive

Monies pledged in January by 34 countries to help fight bird flu have been slow to arrive with only US$286 million of the US$1.9 million being received.

To date only Japan ($158 million), Switzerland ($4.7 million), Finland ($3.4 million) and the Czech Republic ($200,000) have given their total pledge. With the United States sending $71 million of its $334 million pledge.

These figures were obtained by from a World Bank donor survey and draft report that was written for the Influenza Partners' Senior Officials Meeting on the 6 and 7 June.

The slow arrival of the money has resulted in the cutting of some programmes by key organisations due to receive the funds - such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

According to OIE Director-General, Bernard Vallat, without adequate funding they will be forced "reduce our ambitions", which could result in the disease becoming endemic in some countries.

The nations due to receive the largest amounts of promised funds, according the World Bank report, are Vietnam ($66 million), Indonesia ($55 million), Nigeria ($51 million), Turkey ($46 million), and Cambodia ($23 million).

Editor WorldPoultry