Vietnam To Get Help To Beat Bird Flu

After Indonesia, Vietnam is the country that has suffered most from bird flu...

Good news for the government of Vietnam is that the World Bank and the European Union and the Japanese government have agreed to pool together resources to help Vietnam protect itself against the deadly bird flu virus. They have agreed to jointly fund a $38 million program that will keep Vietnam up to date with strategies to stop the bird flu pandemic in the country.

The World Bank put up most of the capital providing a credit line of $20 million, the European Union agreed to give $10 million, the Japanese government have given $5 million and the Vietnamese government put up the last $3 million. The funds are to be used over three years and will help local health authorities to educate people and to reduce the exposure to bird flu in eleven provinces of Vietnam that have suffered from bird flu in the past.

Vietnam has been commended in the past the World Health Organisation and other health bodies around the world for its efficient way with dealing with outbreaks of the H5N1 in the country. What must be made clear to all countries is that by stocking up on Tamiflu alone is not going to prevent the deaths of thousands of people should a bird flu pandemic strike.  Tamiflu is only part of the picture to beat the deadly disease and measures to contain the outbreaks and making sure that people do not get infected in the first place will be far more effective than Tamiflu alone.

After Indonesia, Vietnam is the country that has suffered most from bird flu in the world. There have been 93 documented human bird flu cases in Vietnam and of these 42 of them died. The government of Vietnam claims that so far the cost of dealing with the bird flu problem in Vietnam has been in the region of $200 million.