MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Downer
Australia will help the Government of Vietnam boost its capacity to detect and control future outbreaks of pandemic influenza.
Australia, through its international aid agency, AusAID will provide A$4 million for the second phase of a program jointly administered by the Government of Vietnam and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Until this year Vietnam was the epicentre of the outbreak of Avian Influenza in Mekong countries, with the highest recorded number of human deaths.
Forty-three people have died from the disease there, while 45 million birds have died or been culled to control the epidemic.
Vietnam's success in containing the H5N1 outbreak results from closely working with UN agencies and international donors such as Australia to vaccinate 249 million birds and address gaps in surveillance, education, communication and research.
With no human deaths in the past year, Vietnam's preparedness plan is now ready to advance from the emergency phase into building the skills, knowledge and capacity of systems to manage outbreaks which could threaten both humans and animals.
The initiative will allow the Government of Vietnam to focus on a medium-term response to emerging diseases over the next four years including technical assistance and a field epidemiology training program.
Australia has taken a leading role in assisting regional governments combat the threat of Avian Influenza. The A$4 million for Vietnam has been allocated from AusAID's
A$152 million Pandemics and Emerging Infectious Diseases Strategy released today at APEC in Hanoi.
Media contact:
AusAID Public Affairs 0417 680 590 (Canberra)
Tony Parkinson (Mr Downer's Office) + 61 2 6277 7500