Philippines - Asian agriculture ministers agree to fight bird flu

Southeast Asia's agriculture ministers endorsed a regional plan Friday, Sept. 30, to combat avian influenza and pledged to cooperate with international agencies in stamping out the menace -- a move they hope will win enough international aid to halt the disease before it becomes a catastrophic epidemic with the potential to kill millions of people globally. The ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations said in a statement that "the highly pathogenic avian influenza," which has ravaged poultry populations in large swaths of Asia and killed dozens of people, requires "an all-out coordinated regional effort." The meeting in the Philippines ended with the ASEAN ministers' joint statement endorsing a regional plan for control and eradication of bird flu over three years from 2006 and directing a new task force to urgently formulate "a detailed action plan for implementation and proceed to identify potential sources of funding." The plan covers eight strategic areas including a disease surveillance and alert system, vaccination, improving diagnostic capability and establishing disease-free zones. The regional framework dovetails with a three-year plan drafted by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health or OIE and World Health Organization in May, to be presented to international donors in December for implementation early next year. "What we hope to do at the (regional) task force level is to supplement what is going on, what is being done by each individual country and to work with FAO, OIE and WHO," Singapore's Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan told a joint press conference Friday. ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Wilfrido Villacorta said given the gravity of the problem "we are confident that we shall continue to have the support of our dialogue partners." The ASEAN animal health trust fund formally established during the meeting "gives the signal to potential donors that ASEAN member countries are serious about eradicating the avian flu as well as other diseases that are facing the region," he added. Two million dollars have been pledged for the fund, which is separate from a regional fund for bird flu that ASEAN hopes to have, officials said. "It's important that we have the political commitment of the region so we can effectively invite the donors to back the program (on bird flu)," said Subhash Mozaria, FAO chief technical adviser said in a presentation Thursday, Sept. 29, before ASEAN agriculture ministers. The two-day ministerial meeting comes on the heels of an urgent warning from a U.N. health official about the disease's potential to threaten human life. Dr. David Nabarro of the World Health Organization said Thursday that political leaders must take immediate steps to prevent a human flu pandemic, which could strike if the bird virus mutates into a strain that is both deadly to humans and easily spread among people. Between 5 million and 150 million people could die in a human flu epidemic -- the higher figure being likely if governments fail to act now, Nabarro said. But on Friday the U.N. health agency said it was impossible to estimate just how many people could die from a possible flu pandemic, but added it has warned countries to prepare for a death toll of up to 7.4 million. "We think that this is the most reasoned position," said World Health Organization spokesman Dick Thompson. Since 2003, bird flu has swept through poultry populations throughout Asia -- leaving at least 65 people dead, mostly in Vietnam and Thailand. Massive culling of sick birds has failed to stop the disease, and regional officials have long complained of a lack of money for testing and vaccinating poultry and for stockpiling medication. Mozaria said the endorsement of the ASEAN ministers, meeting in the resort town of Tagaytay, about 37 milessouth of Manila, was necessary in order to acquire donor pledges to combat the virus. The three U.N. agencies hope to convince richer countries in the West to commit at least $250 million to help bird flu affected nations over the next three years, WHO Western Pacific regional director Shigeru Omi told reporters in July. About $150 million is required by the WHO for public health and the remaining $100 million is needed by the FAO and OIE for surveillance and vaccination. ASEAN comprises Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.