The United States will fund Vietnam additional 10.5 million U.S. dollars to help the country fight against bird flu, said a press release of the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam on Wednesday.
Of the total money, 8 million dollars financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will be poured into its exiting assistance program worth 8.6 million dollars, which, in partnership with the Vietnamese government, supports national, provincial and district activities to combat bird flu in poultry, and reduce the risk of the disease in humans.
USIAD will also expand its support of enhanced surveillance, effective response and containment, communication and prevention activities to fight against bird flu in Vietnam.
Another 1.5 million dollars to be channeled through the World Health Organization will be spent on supporting Vietnam's development of a human vaccine against avian influenza, and 1 million dollars to be provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be used to provide support and technical assistance to the Vietnamese Health Ministry.
The U.S. government has contributed over 22 million dollars to Vietnam for its bird flu prevention and containment efforts since 2005, said the release.
Vietnam has detected seven bird flu patients from the five northern provinces of Vinh Phuc, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Ha Nam and Ha Tay since May 10, of whom four died, according to the Preventive Medicine Department under the Vietnamese Health Ministry.
Bird flu outbreaks in Vietnam, starting in December 2003, have killed and led to the forced culling of dozens of millions of fowls in the country, according to the Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Source: Xinhua
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