January 18, 2006

World Bank to help Turkey combat bird flu

The World Bank is ready to help Turkey reduce the health and economic impact of bird flu on both poultry producers and the population, said Andrew Vorkink, director of the World Bank for Turkey.

He said the bank has launched a global programme to fight the effects of bird flu and that Turkey has priority under this programme.

According to Vorkink, the programme has three phases - prevention, preparedness and planning, and response and containment. The programme offers a comprehensive selection of interventions that can be adjusted to each country.

At a conference co-hosted by the World Bank, the EU and China in Beijing on Jan 18-19, the total pledging of funds from donors is expected to exceed US$1 billion to help middle income and developing countries combat bird flu, he said.

The project amount is tentatively set at US$30 million but the amount may increase according to the extent of outbreaks in Turkey, said Vorkink. He added that Turkey has taken the right steps to combat the current outbreaks.

Meanwhile, China culled more than 20 million poultry and compensated farmers a total of RMB200 million last year to combat bird flu, according to local news reports.

Last year, China had 32 bird flu cases that destroyed 154,600 poultry, the country's government said.