February 5, 2007

Women chicken farmers in Laos given aid to fight bird flu

Women poultry farmers in Laos, South-east Asia's poorest country, would be taught how to identify bird flu to prevent it from spreading in their community. 

Women from the northern part of Laos have been encouraged to go into poultry breeding as a way of earning a living and helping to supplement the family income through the sale of eggs and chickens.

With the threat of bird flu in neighbouring Vietnam and Thailand, measures are taken to ensure that women poultry farmers in Laos do not suffer the same fate.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) giving women the knowledge and tools to stop the spread of bird flu by teaching them how to identify the disease and equip them with first-aid kits, Manoshi Mitra, senior social development specialist at the ADB said.

The project is geared to help poor ethnic-minority families. It is expected to benefit an estimated 17,000 households in 400 villages.