INDONESIA - Budget to fight bird flu

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INDONESIA PLANS DROP IN BIRD FLU BUDGET AS NEW CASE CONFIRMED
August 24, 2006 (Radio Australia)

Indonesia says it plans to reduce its 2007 budget for bird flu eradication to $US46.5 million despite the steady rise of avian influenza deaths in the vast archipelago this year.

Bayu Krisnamurthi, head of the national commission on bird flu prevention, says the planned budget is a drop from $US54.4 million allocated for 2006.

"The available fund is smaller for next year compared to this year," he said, speaking after a two day meeting on bird flu between his agency and foreign donor agencies.

But he said the figure could be adjusted further because it "still needs to be confirmed again" by various government agencies, specifically the finance ministry.

Mr Krisnamurthi said donors at the meeting pledged a total of $US47 million in services, goods and cash, but much of the aid would most likely not be available before 2008.

The news came as the World Health Organisation confirmed that a six-year-old girl from West Java province had become the nation's latest bird flu case.

Indonesia's ministry of health confirmed to the UN agency that the girl from Bekasi, which neighbours Jakarta, was the 60th confirmed case, of which 46 have proved fatal, making it the highest death toll from the virus in the world.

A WHO statement said the girl's condition was imporiving.

Source: www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1723594.htm

 

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INDONESIA - Budget reduced despite steady rise of bird flu

INDONESIA - Budget reduced despite steady rise of bird flu

WORLD BANK URGES INDONESIA TO INCREASE BIRD FLU BUDGET
August 24, 2006 (VOA News)

The World Bank is urging Indonesia to increase its budget for fighting bird flu, and warning the virus poses a serious threat to the country's economy.

Chickens on a farm in central Java, Indonesia (file photo)

The Bank's country director in Indonesia, Andrew Steer, Thursday advised the government against plans to scale back funding for bird flu programs next year. He said international investors are wary of doing business in Indonesia because of bird flu concerns.

Indonesia has allocated $46.5 million for bird flu programs next year, down from the $54.4 million it reserved for the fight this year.

Bird flu has hit Indonesia harder than any other country in the world, killing 46 people.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

Source: www.voanews.com/english/2006-08-24-voa17.cfm

 

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INDONESIA - Budget reduced despite steady rise of bird flu

INDONESIA - Budget reduced despite steady rise of bird flu

INDONESIA TOLD TO BE MORE AGGRESIVE IN HANDLING BIRD FLU
August 24, 2006 (Antara News)

Jakarta -- The Indonesian government was expected to take more aggressive measures in dealing with avian influenza (AI) cases which have been posing a threat to 29 out of 33 provinces in Indonesia.

(The Indonesian government) has to be more aggressive as many AI cases have caused human deaths, Veterinarian of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) John Weaver said here Thursday after a meeting between the Indonesian government and its key partners in handling bird flu.

Sharing John Weaver`s views, the World Bank`s chief representative in Indonesia Andrew Steer also said that the Indonesian government should work harder in tackling the fatal disease transmitted by poultry.

He said the Indonesian government`s response to the spread of AI virus, which tended to be passive should be changed in order that the AI virus would no longer be a threat to human beings.

The condition was expected to improve in the next three months, Andrew said, adding that his side would give technical support among other things in dealing with the AI virus.

According to him, the spread of the AI virus in Indonesia has been alarming but the government has yet to allocate enough funds to overcome the disease.

He noted that the Indonesian government has even reduced the budget for efforts to deal with bird flu cases from US$54.4 million in 2006 to US$46.5 million in 2007.

The budget for the purpose should amount to US$250 million per year but the government has until now allocated less than US$100 million per year, he said.

He reminded that bird flu was not only a threat to human lives but also to Indonesia`s economic growth, and therefore, the budget for handling the problem should be increased and efforts to deal with the case should be intensified.

Until now, the condition of the AI virus, type A, sub-type H5NI in Indonesia has yet to be declared on a decline.

According to the National Commission on Bird Flu Control and Alertness of Influenza Pandemic, 29 out of the 33 provinces in Indonesia have become endemic of AI virus on poultry.

AI cases on human beings still appear sporadic in different areas in the country and the number of people tested positive for the AI virus had reached 62, and 47 of them had died.

Source: www.antara.co.id/en/seenws/?id=18815

 

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INDONESIA - Budget to fight bird flu

JAKARTA SEEKS CASH TO FIGHT BIRD FLU
3 septembre 2006 (Reuters)

Indonesia hopes to secure about $US100 million ($157 million) to fight bird flu next year, the vice-president has said, after criticism the country is not doing enough to control the disease.

Indonesia has the world's highest death toll from bird flu. Scientists and even the World Bank have called on the government to step up the fight to control the disease.

Experts said public ignorance, along with official ineptitude and lack of money, are hampering efforts to stamp out the disease in the country of 220 million people.

"I asked for certainty from the World Bank and they asked for certainty from our budget. So, both of us ascertained to gather at least $US100 million for next year,'' Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said.

It was not immediately clear if this meant the government's budget to fight the H5N1 bird flu virus would be raised.

The World Bank has been urging Jakarta to increase its budget after it earmarked $US46.5 million to fight bird flu in 2007, down from $US57.37 million slated for this year.

According to government data, together with donor contributions, Indonesia plans to spend about $US93 million this year in fighting bird flu.

Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie said last month Indonesia had not received a single cent pledged by international donors at a global bird flu conference in Beijing in January.

The donors promised $US1.9 billion for the global fight and the World Health Organisation has also criticised some governments for their failure to pay up.

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INDONESIA - Budget to fight bird flu

MORE FUNDS NEEDED TO FIGHT BIRD FLU
September 17, 2006 (AFP)

Jakarta -- The flow of international donor money to bird flu-hit Indonesia should be speeded up as the government has made the progress required to release the funds, a senior UN official said.

Indonesia, which has reported the highest number of bird flu deaths in the world, has complained that it has seen next to no funds arrive since donors pledged millions of dollars at a conference in Beijing this year.

Officials here have said they need around $US250 million ($396 million) a year for the next three years to fight the spread of the virus, which has been found in 29 of Indonesia's 33 provinces.

David Nabarro, senior UN co-ordinator for bird flu, said after a one-day visit that he would be telling donors to begin releasing funds.

"We're not close to the amount that is required, the $US250 million, but we have made a big step forward to create the conditions under which all money can be made available,'' he said.

In a follow up meeting to Beijing, donors specifically pledged $US47 million to Indonesia in August.

"Now it is my job to go to the donors and say: get your money into Indonesia as quickly as you can,'' Mr Nabarro said. He said donors had certain requirements that they needed met by the Indonesian government before they could release cash.

"I am, like you, frustrated that we still have not been able to get to Indonesia the resources that you need to enable you to fight against bird flu with all the energy that is necessary,'' he said.

"At the same time I know that the donors had certain requirements that they needed in order that they could start to find ways to release their money.

"What we have been doing is making it easier for the donors to make available the money that they have got ready for Indonesia. That is our objective to make that money start to flow.''

Indonesia's own budget was set at just $US46.5 million for 2007, down from $US54.4 million for this year. But Mr Nabarro said he was told that effectively there was not a net drop in resources being allocated towards fighting the H5N1 virus.

Mr Nabarro said he was "very, very concerned'' about the overall shortfall in funding.

"Typically in this kind of work it may take anything between one year to three years to design a major spending activity, once confidence has been built up enough, for donors to actually even think that they're going to go down that route,'' he said.

"And we're really very keen because of the urgency of this problem to see money moving in weeks, or certainly months and not in years.''

Ideally, he added, Indonesia needed to focus strongly on animal health, sustain its work on human health, massively increase its communication and also improve its pandemic preparedness.

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