Avian Influenza Response
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Villagers and domesticated ducks rest in a backyard farm in Kampot Province, southern Cambodia, where the country’s four confirmed human cases of H5N1 avian influenza have occurred since January 2005.
Source: Ben Zinner/USAID |
The U.S. Government is increasingly concerned about the highly infectious strain of avian influenza known as H5N1. This strain of the virus has resulted in the need to destroy more than 140 million birds across Asia, threatening the livelihoods of poultry farmers in the 15 affected countries. As of November 25, 2005, there have been 132 confirmed cases in humans resulting in 68 deaths. The virus has spread outside of Southeast Asia through wild migratory birds that have now infected domestic poultry in Russia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. To ensure global scientific and policy coordination, the United States is collaborating closely with eight international organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and 88 foreign governments to address the situation through planning, greater monitoring, and full transparency in reporting and investigating avian influenza occurrences. The United States and these international partners have led global efforts to encourage countries to heighten surveillance for outbreaks in poultry and significant numbers of deaths in migratory birds and to rapidly introduce containment measures. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Departments of State, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Agriculture (USDA) are coordinating future international response measures on behalf of the White House with departments and agencies across the federal government.
Presidential Actions
On November 1, 2005, President George W. Bush outlined the national strategy to safeguard against the danger of avian and pandemic influenza and requested from Congress $7.1 billion in emergency funding to immediately begin implementing this strategy. The President's request included $251 million to help the international community prevent and control the spread of avian influenza by training local medical personnel, expanding surveillance and testing capacity, creating preparedness plans, and conducting other vital actions to detect and contain outbreaks.
Less than six months earlier, on May 11, President Bush signed an emergency appropriations bill that contained $25 million to prevent and control the spread of avian influenza. USAID, HHS, and USDA are currently implementing programs with these funds in Southeast Asia.
Further accelerating global readiness, President Bush recently announced the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza in his remarks to the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on September 14, 2005. The Partnership brings together key nations and international organizations to improve readiness by:
- Elevating the issue on national agendas
- Coordinating efforts among donor and affected nations
- Mobilizing and leveraging resources
- Increasing transparency in disease reporting and surveillance
- Building capacity to identify, contain, and respond to a pandemic influenza
All partners have endorsed a core set of principles focused on enhancing preparedness, prevention, response, and containment activities. The Partnership will build on and support ongoing domestic, bilateral, and multilateral avian and pandemic influenza programs. To view the core principles, visit the State Department website.
Further Information on the USAID Response
Related USAID Programs
Additional Information on Avian Influenza
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