UN to give aid to impoverished bird flu nations ( 2004-02-03 17:58) (Agencies)
The United Nations will give emergency aid to the four poorest countries
struck by the Asia-wide bird flu epidemic, a UN body said on Tuesday, adding it
hoped the money would prompt others to help battle the crisis.
The Food and Agriculture Organization said in a statement it would hand out a
total of $1.6 million to Cambodia, Laos, Pakistan and Viet Nam.
"These projects are seed money for immediate help," FAO Asia-Pacific chief He
Changchui was quoted as saying in the statement. "More international assistance
is needed to enable poorer countries to better deal with the crisis."
One main problem that has emerged, most publicly in Indonesia, is being able
to pay poor farmers enough to persuade them to slaughter flocks on which many
depend for their livelihoods.
The Indonesian government said initially it could not afford to pay
compensation, but reversed its position under international pressure. Most
experts advocate mass slaughter as the best means of halting the epidemic.
The FAO said its money, among other things, would help governments to train
people to dispose of slaughtered birds safely and provide them with protective
gear.
International organizations have been aghast at the sight of people disposing
of possibly infected poultry with little or no protection from the virus, which
has killed at least 12 people in Vietnam and Thailand.
At least one Thai is suspected of dying from bird flu picked up while
disposing of dead poultry.
