|
News Releases
No. 2/06
January 13, 2006
EUROPEAN COMMISSION PLEDGES €80 MILLION TO FIGHT BIRD FLU IN THIRD COUNTRIES
At the “International Pledging Conference on Avian and
Human Pandemic Influenza” in Beijing on 17-18 January,
the European Commission will pledge its external
response to the threat of
avian flu, including a grant
of up to €80 million to combat the spread of the virus
in developing countries, particularly in Asia. The
conference’s aim is to mobilize and co-ordinate the
financial support from donors to boost the response to
avian influenza and potential flu pandemic at the
national, regional and global level. The lion’s share of
the pledged monies will support integrated national
response strategies in third countries in addition to
the considerable efforts these countries themselves are
making. The Commission’s contribution, coming from the
External Relations budgets and the
European Development
Fund, will be announced on behalf of the Commission by
Health and Consumer
 Protection Commissioner,
Markos
Kyprianou (pictured left). This will add to contributions provided by EU
Member States and will feed into the total pledged by
all donors attending the conference. The meeting will
gather over 90 countries, as well as 25 organisations,
including the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World
Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Welcoming this joint international effort,
Benita Ferrero-Waldner
(pictured below), Commissioner for
External Relations and
Neighborhood Policy, said:
“Next week’s conference
represents a key step in the global response to the
spread of avian flu. I am sure that the significant
funds that the Commission is providing will give crucial
support to the most needy countries in Asia, Africa, and
Neighborhood Countries in Europe, Middle East and North
Africa and will reinforce their strategies for tackling
avian flu and averting the threat of a pandemic.”
Commissioner for
Development and
 Humanitarian Aid,
Louis
Michel (pictured left), said: “We must take a global approach to this
pandemic and we must anticipate and not just react to
events. Hence, the European Commission stands ready to
support all developing countries fight this potential
threat. We will also have a special focus in
Africa to
counter the epidemiological risks and in particular the
potential vulnerability of animal health systems in
Africa.”
Commissioner Kyprianou said: “The EU puts its money
where its mouth is. The Commission will provide a
significant grant in addition to pledges from individual
Member States. We now have to work with the countries
most affected by the avian influenza outbreak to
increase surveillance, foster consistency between the
veterinary and public health sides, boost contingency
planning and ensure co-ordination and exchange of
information. That is the way to ultimately defeat this
avian epidemic and prevent it from turning into a human
influenza pandemic of a new and potentially devastating
kind.”
The International Pledging Conference is co-sponsored by
the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the
European Commission and the World Bank. Building on the
Geneva conference of November 2005, which identified the
needs of countries most affected by avian influenza and
fostered preparedness in view of a possible human pandemic
influenza, the conference will detail financial
arrangements to address the socio-economic, animal and
human health challenges posed by avian flu.
Participants at the conference are expected to announce
their financial pledges in support to affected countries
and countries at risk and agree on a “Beijing
Declaration” that will spell out the key principles for
a long-term international partnership to combat avian influenza.
The Commission’s €80 million contribution will be made
up of €50 million from the Commission’s 2006 External
Relations budget and €30 million from the European
Development Fund. The €30 million remains subject to
approval of
Asian, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries,
which is expected by April 2006.
Further Contact Information
Press and Public Diplomacy
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766
|
