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  • BANGLADESH - Prevention and control efforts

    BANGLADESH TAKES EMERGENCY PROGRAM TO PREVENT AVIAN INFLUENZA
    June 27, 2006 (People's Daily Online)

    Bangladeshi government has taken up an emergency program to prevent spreading of avian influenza, widely known as bird flu virus, in Bangladesh, private news agency UNB reported Monday.

    The emergency program involves 4.27 billion taka (about 61 million U.S. dollars), said Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Quamrul Hasan while opening a daylong training program for livestock officers here Monday.

    The opening ceremony was informed that the government has taken up inter-ministerial programs to implement the national strategy to resist the avian influenza.

    Meanwhile, the government has already banned import of poultry birds, chicks and poultry products from 56 countries affected by the avian virus.

    The World Bank is also actively considering another 2 billion taka (about 28.6 million U.S. dollars) assistance proposal made by Bangladeshi government to check the outbreak of the deadly virus.

    Source: Xinhua http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/20...27_277572.html

  • #2
    BANGLADESH - Prevention and control efforts

    DHAKA FOR REGIONAL EFFORTS TO PREVENT BIRD FLU
    Bss, New Delhi

    Health and Family Welfare Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain yesterday called for coordinated regional efforts to keep bird flu at bay.

    He was speaking at an international conference on 'Avian influenza control and pandemic preparedness in Asia' in New Delhi. Mosharraf co-chaired the conference jointly hosted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Indian government.

    He said that Bangladesh, so far, remained free from bird flu, but seasonal visits of migratory birds and geographical proximity with some highly infected countries posed a threat.

    Bangladesh's national avian influenza and human pandemic influenza preparedness and response plan, explained by Mosharraf, was lauded at the conference.

    The minister said that the government of Bangladesh prepared the national plan involving all stakeholders such as government institutions, civil society, development partners, public representatives as well as professional and business bodies.

    The funds are expected from the World Bank for implementation of the plan and from the US for strengthening the country's disease surveillance activities, he said.

    The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) signed an MoU with the US Department of Health to establish a laboratory for investigation and research on the pandemics, he added.

    The minister said that as national efforts might not be sufficient to prevent and control the disease, regional coordinated efforts are needed to this end. In South Asia, it could best be done by following the Saarc spirit, based on mutual trust and respect for the welfare of the people in the region, he added.

    He also hoped that the declaration adopted by the conference would serve the purpose of regional cooperation in keeping the disease at bay from South Asia.

    Mosharraf said the pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh with their experience in producing antiviral drugs want to assist in developing vaccines against bird flu and conduct necessary diagnostic tests and promote related researches.

    The declaration adopted by the conference called for, among other things, development and further strengthening of animal and human diseases surveillance and response systems for early detection and prompt containment of bird flu and other emerging diseases.

    WHO Regional Director Samlee Plianbangchang, in his opening speech, said that the avian flu had been affecting only animals, particularly birds and poultry.

    But now, he said, the virus H5N1 had crossed the species barriers and already infected human beings in 10 countries globally. As of today, he said, 231 human cases of avian influenza had been reported worldwide and 133 of them proved fatal.

    The diseases, he said, had been characterised by a high rate of mortality that is over 50 per cent.

    He described the threat of avian flu, coming in the wake of outbreaks of Nipah and Sars, as a formidable challenge of diseases.

    Apart from Bangladesh, health ministers from Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand took part in the conference.

    Indian Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said his country has made elaborate arrangements to prevent re-entry of bird flu into India.

    Indian Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said his country had also modified its World Bank-funded integrated disease surveillance programme to include surveillance for animal diseases.

    He also said that the specific responsibilities allocated by the Asean's coordination plan to tackle the disease had impressed him.

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    • #3
      BANGLADESH - Prevention and control efforts

      BANGLADESH TO GET $16.5M WB LOAN TO FIGHT AVIAN FLU
      September 18, 2006 (The Daily Star)

      Singapore -- The World Bank is likely to provide Bangladesh a loan of $16.5 million within a year to design specific programmes in tackling the risks of avian flu.

      However, the pipeline commitment is tentative and the specific amounts and timing are subject to change as well as the existing projects would require restructuring, a seminar on Avian and Human Influenza (AHI) was told in Singapore yesterday.

      The WB has devised a support programme for the developing countries to fight avian flu in animals and was preparing for a possible human flu pandemic through a global funding programme formerly known as the Global Programme for Avian Influenza (GPAI).

      The bank's board of executive directors endorsed the programme in January this year in Beijing with a pledge of $1.9 billion dollars.

      Some 30 developing and least developed countries, including Bangladesh, remained in the pipeline for the credit likely to be disbursed within 6-12 months while the bank has already committed $1.2 billion for 15 most-affected areas.

      "This indicates a more rapid response than seen in the aftermath of recent major natural disasters, such as the Indian Ocean tsunami," a senior executive of the World Bank told the seminar at Suntec Singapore.

      To help countries prepare projects for financing, the World Bank's task teams would provide analytic and advisory assistance. The GPAI allows for the use of up to $500 million in IBRD loans or IDA credits or grants for new projects or restructuring of existing projects with or without additional financing.

      The seminar was told that limited grant resources were also available from the bank-administered trust funds for financing AHI projects.

      The newly established multi-donor trust fund, the AHI facility, has an initial endowment of $75 million from a number of donors, including the European Commission.

      Countries could access funding from the bank to strengthen their veterinary and health services to deal with avian flu outbreaks among animals, minimise the threat posed to people, and prepare for and respond to any potential human flu pandemic.

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      • #4
        BANGLADESH - Prevention and control efforts

        BANGLADESH TAKES BIRD FLU OUTBREAK SERIOUSLY
        By UNB, Dhaka (The New Nation)
        September 21, 2006

        A two-day workshop here on Avian and Human Influenza has developed the framework for a National Communication Strategy and Action Plan for prevention of the disease in Bangladesh.

        "The government takes the threat of 'bird flu' outbreak very seriously as it has been detected in India and Myanmar. Bangladesh remains free of the disease and this is how we would like to keep it," said Kamrul Islam, the Secretary-in-Charge of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, in his opening remarks at the workshop that concluded Tuesday.

        He said, "An effective communication strategy will help us prevent an outbreak and allow us to prepare in case there is one. Bangladesh has proven its competency in combating natural disasters because of its improved preparedness."

        The Avian, Human and Pandemic Influenza communication efforts in Bangladesh are supported by the government of Japan through UNICEF.

        This is part of the Japanese government's global support to Avian Influenza (AI) and HI prevention and control efforts in Asia in particular.

        Kirsty McIvor, Chief of Communication and Information, UNICEF, and chair of the Technical Working Group summarised the outcome of the workshop and the main focus of the National Risk Communication Strategy on Avian and Human Influenza.

        The main areas of the strategy include research, implementation of public awareness and campaign for behaviour change, coordination of efforts, monitoring and evaluation and capacity building.

        Technical Working Group of UNICEF, representatives from the Department of Health Services (DGHS), Institute of Epidemiology and Disease Control and Response (IEDCR), Institute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Environment, Forest Department and Bangladesh Medical Association took part in the workshop.

        At the inaugural ceremony, UNICEF Bangladesh Representative Louis-Georges Arsenault said, "So far no confirmed bird flu cases have been found in Bangladesh."

        "We'll however have to be prepared because of the outbreak that took place in the region and with the migratory bird season starts in a few weeks. The strategy coming out of this workshop will chart the way forward for our preparedness, he said."

        The workshop was also represented by BCCP, UNICEF, WHO and BRAC.

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