February 6, 2007

Philippines earmarks US$2.5 million against bird flu

The Philippine government has created a 122.8 million peso (US$2.52 million) fund to keep bird flu out of the Philippines, officials said Monday (Feb 5).

The fund, part of the soon-to-be-signed 2007 national budget, will be available to five government agencies, led by the Department of Agriculture, to implement the Avian Influenza Protection Programme, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya said. The Philippines remains free of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

The programme will focus on monitoring areas at risk of infection from migratory birds, upgrading laboratories, building up rapid-action capability in case of an outbreak and other activities, Andaya said in a statement.

The programme designates the agriculture department to coordinate with the health, environment and natural resources, trade and industry, and local government departments to keep the country avian flu-free.

The health department earlier drafted a bird flu response plan that details actions to be taken by each department, in coordination with an interagency task force, during four "danger-level scenarios," said Dr Lydon Lee Suy, the health department's avian flu programme chief.

Andaya said other parts of the budget, such as the government's calamity fund, could be tapped in the event of an outbreak.