US$ 20 mil. worth of international grants for VN’s bird flu drive

VNGOVNet – In the morning of January 9 in Hanoi, a host of agreements was signed for bird flu control projects with total worth of US$ 20.2 million. They included a US$ 16.2 million United Nations-funded program (Stage 2) and other projects financed by the US, Japan and Ireland through the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with total value of US$4 million.

January 10, 2007 11:45 AM GMT+7

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The projects are significant in that they are signed at a time when Vietnam is tackling bird flu after some epidemic niduses discovered in its southern provinces. The aid will help to improve bird flu containing and prevent it from jumping to human beings.

The FAO-executed projects will focus on such activities as epidemiological training at grassroots level, supporting mass vaccination and post-vaccination monitor, improving lab diagnosis and countrywide epidemic supervision, research into the transmission of disease by wild fowl and ranging ducks, and vaccine testing.

The VN-UN Collaborative Program will be carried out by the National Board for Bird Flu Control in cooperation with the ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Health and others.

In another development, according to the US Embassy in Vietnam, the US Government is expected to grant Vietnam US$ 126,408 in two projects to assist in preventing bird flu spreading./.

By Xuân Hồng