Avian & Pandemic Influenza

Eight nations and the European Commission pledged $605 million December 6 in the continuing fight against the spread of H5N1 avian influenza in birds and people for efforts focusing on halting the virus at its avian source, bolstering disease surveillance and integrating animal and human health services and capabilities. The pledges came on the final day of the December 4-6 New Delhi Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, hosted by the government of India in collaboration with the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, launched by President Bush in 2005. “On behalf of the United States government,” Ambassador John Lange, head of the U.S. delegation and special representative for avian and pandemic influenza at the State Department, told the delegates, “I’m pleased to announce our new pledge of international assistance for avian and pandemic influenza, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture in the amount of $195 million.”

2007: U.S., EU, Others Pledge $605 Million in New Delhi for Avian Flu Fight (Dec 6, 2007) | International Health Ministers Plan for Global Preparedness (Nov 7, 2007) | U.S. Support to Europe for Combating Avian and Pandemic Influenza (Jun 7, 2007)

On the last day of an international avian influenza conference – the first such meeting to be held in Africa – donors from 10 countries, the European Commission-European Union, the World Bank and the African Development Bank pledged nearly $500 million in grants to fight avian influenza and prepare for a human pandemic, with a particular focus on Africa. The U.S. government added $100 million in international assistance to an original pledge of $334 million made at a conference in Beijing in January. Other major donors – according to figures provided by the World Bank – were Canada ($92.5 million), the European Commission ($88.2 million), Japan ($67 million) and others ($128.2), for total initial pledges of $475.9 million. Ambassador John Lange, U.S. State Department special representative on avian and pandemic influenza, announced the U.S. contribution December 8, 2006, during the Fourth International Conference on Avian Influenza, co-sponsored by the government of the Republic of Mali, the European Commission and the African Union. “Today,” Lange told the meeting, “the United States announces that our new pledge total for international assistance is $434 million, representing a $100 million increase since Beijing.” Lange said a significant portion of the new funds will support efforts on the African continent.

2006: Experts Urge Nations To Report Flu Cases Immediately, Share Data (Dec 20, 2006) | Donors Pledge Nearly $500 Million to Avian Flu Fight (Dec 8, 2006)

The international community has made “great progress” in its joint effort to combat the avian influenza pandemic and prepare for a possible outbreak of human pandemic influenza, said Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky June 7. Dobriansky met in Vienna, Austria, June 6-7 with senior officials from other nations involved in an International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza. The government of Austria, on behalf of the European Union, was hosting the meeting jointly with the United States. President Bush launched the multilateral initiative in September 2005, and representatives from participating nations met in Washington for the first time in October. “The world has made great progress, improving preparedness and communications, surveillance and detection, and response and containment,” Dobriansky said in an address to the session, hosted by the Austrian Foreign Ministry on behalf of the European Union.

Top Officials Meeting on Bird Flu Strategy in Vienna (Jun 5, 2006) | Additional European Countries Report Bird Flu (Feb 15, 2006) | Human Bird Flu Cases Present Puzzling Patterns (Jan 20, 2006) | Turkey Reports First Human Bird Flu Outside East Asia (Jan 5, 2006)

2005: Ukraine Reports Bird Flu; Role of Migratory Birds Debated (Dec 6, 2005) | Global Action Plan on Pandemic Moves Forward (Nov 9, 2005) | WHO Lists 10 Important Facts About Pandemic Influenza (Oct 27, 2005) | More Reports of Bird Flu Emerge in Europe (Oct 18, 2005) | Officials Urge Calm in Face of Bird Flu Spread (Oct 17, 2005) | EU Shares U.S. Goal of Preventing Avian, Pandemic Influenza (Sep 30, 2005)