06 December 2006
Global Conference in Mali Targets Avian and Pandemic Influenza
Meeting to boost financial support for preparedness, response efforts worldwide
Bamako, Mali -- More than 350 representatives from countries around the globe gathered in this West African nation December 6 for three days of meetings to assess programs that seek to counter the threat of avian and pandemic influenza and to boost financial support for preparedness and response efforts worldwide.
Attendees at the 4th International Conference on Avian Influenza, hosted by the African Union and the government of Mali in conjunction with the European Union (EU), are working to increase help for countries that face potential severe social and economic consequences from an avian influenza outbreak.
Headed by Ambassador John Lange, special representative on avian and pandemic influenza at the State Department, the U.S. delegation joined senior representatives of the United Nations and other international and regional organizations to offer an update on worldwide outbreaks of the virus and its transmission risks.
The U.S. delegation includes Kent Hill, assistant administrator for global health at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); Dr. David Bell, who coordinates the International Influenza Unit at the Department of Health and Human Services; and Ron DeHaven, administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Recognizing that H5N1 -- highly pathogenic avian influenza -- is still very much a disease of poultry, we are pleased to see the strong participation of many countries at this meeting in Bamako,” DeHaven said.
“Although considerable progress has been made to attack this virus in birds in recent months, there is much left to do, especially here in Africa,” he added. “The commitments made at this meeting will help to maintain the momentum necessary to mount an effective global strategy.”
PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES
In the opening conference sessions -- simultaneously translated into French, English, Portuguese and Arabic -- representatives from Canada, China, Egypt, the EU, Indonesia, Nigeria and the United States described their experiences with avian influenza, actions taken to stop the disease and strategies for increasing preparedness.
Joseph Domenech, chief veterinary officer of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, also representing the World Organization for Animal Health, reported on the avian flu epizootic -- the animal version of a pandemic -- around the world.
In Africa, he said, the bird flu situation is complex.
Since the first incidence of H5N1 in Nigeria in January, seven other countries have been infected -- Cameroon, Niger and Egypt in February; Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina-Faso and Sudan in March; and Djibouti in April.
To date, the virus still circulates in Nigeria and Egypt, and Cote d’Ivoire still reports outbreaks. The virus may have died out in Cameroon and Niger. Egypt and Djibouti are the only African nations that have reported human infections.
Africa poses a specific challenge because of the poor capacity of its veterinary services to control H5N1 infection, Domenech said.
“Given the weakness of surveillance systems [in Africa], we cannot be sure that endemicity [prevalence] has not been established in some regions,” Domenech added. “Therefore, Africa must be a priority for support in the fight against avian influenza.”
INTERNATIONAL EFFORT
The Bamako meeting is the fourth since September 2005, when President Bush announced before the U.N. General Assembly a new International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza that would bring together key nations and international organizations to bolster global readiness ahead of the growing threat. (See related article.)
Members of the international partnership met in Washington in October 2005 and in Vienna, Austria, in June to coordinate plans and strategies against the animal pandemic. Donors from the global community met in Beijing in January, pledging $1.9 billion to fight avian and pandemic influenza.
Of that total, the U.S. contribution was $334 million. In September, the total U.S. contribution rose to $392 million. (See related article.)
"What we do internationally to help other countries is the most important thing we do to help ourselves,” said USAID’s Kent Hill.
“If we can advance international cooperation, if we can build international capacity, if we can ensure a rapid response to avian influenza,” he added, “it’s going to be the best protection for us as well, and for any country.”
The conference runs through December 8, and health ministers, agriculture ministers, other officials and technical experts will discuss vaccination and communication strategies and ways to compensate the losses of poultry raisers who destroy their flocks to contain the virus’s spread.
Attendees also will assess the status of assistance pledges, outline new pledges and present strategies and priorities for the future.
More information on U.S. and international efforts on avian influenza is available on a Web site of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
For ongoing coverage of the disease and efforts to combat it, see Bird Flu (Avian Influenza).
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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