MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Downer
I am pleased to announce that Australia will provide an additional $18.5 million over four years to help Indonesia fight avian influenza.
Indonesia has been hardest hit by the disease, with 56 deaths confirmed by the World Health Organization - 45 of those this year.
The program will target three priority areas: control of the disease in animals, improved community awareness and strengthened surveillance of the disease in humans and animals.
The provision of specialist expertise to the Indonesian Ministries of Agriculture and Health will help strengthen national policy and planning on how to limit the spread of the disease.
Community awareness-raising programs, the purchase of poultry vaccines and departmental training in infection control will help provincial populations deal with the threat of avian influenza at a community level.
Targeted support for disease surveillance/response and human and veterinary epidemiology study through links with Australian institutions, will help put better trained lab and hospital infection staff at the front line of detecting and treating disease.
This brings Australia's total commitment to Indonesia's avian influenza response to $34 million, and is part of our $100 million commitment to combat the threat of pandemics in the region.
The $15.5 million already committed to Indonesia since 2004 has funded the training of lab staff in the diagnosis of the virus; supported rapid response teams to investigate all suspected human cases and associated animal outbreaks; and supplied 50,000 courses of the anti-viral medication Tamiflu to raise Indonesia's buffer stocks.
Media contacts:
Tony Parkinson (Mr Downer's Office) 02 6277 7500
AusAID Public Affairs 0417 680 590