The United Nations on Monday asked Indonesia to step up efforts to prevent possible bird flu pandemic that may kill millions of people and cause massive economic losses and social difficulties.

Visiting UN System Senior Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza David Nabarro said in a workshop here the bird flu pandemic may happen.

"We have to prepare to the future that associates with pandemic, ... we need all the efforts of the government plus the private sectors," he said.

Over 40 million people world wide were killed by the avian influenza pandemics in 1918 and 1919 and caused huge economic losses and social damages.

The coordinator said that a well preparation may reduce the impact of the possible upcoming pandemic.

"What will we do in the next few days and weeks and months? We will make a great different to the consequences of the next pandemic. We must stamp out avian influenza. We must get ready to reduce that threat. We must limit economic impact," he said.

To reach the goal, Indonesia must ensure public health services and infrastructure are ready, and try to restrict mobility of population believed to have been infected, said Nabarro.

The coordination among government, private sector and civil society must be strengthened, he said.

"I would like to be sure within the next couple of months Indonesia will have done rehearsal how it's going to act when the pandemic start. And we must protect our frontline personnel," Nabarro added referring to the same acts already taken by Vietnam recently.

He said that Indonesia's efforts to stop the spread of the virus were on the right track now.

"I think Indonesia stands up in the right level, but the challenges facing Indonesia are bigger than those in some countries," said Nabarro.

On the same occasion, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People Welfare and Poverty Alleviation Aburizal Bakrie said that the government would like to cooperate with international partners to stop the virus.

The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain is endemic in poultry in parts of Asia, which killed nearly 70 people.

Source: Xinhua