May 15, 2006

Cambodia to use 11,700 village vets to educate public about bird flu
 

Cambodia needs an additional 5,300 "village vets", on top of 6,400 volunteers already recruited to help educate the public about bird flu, a government official said on Monday (May 15).

Villagers need to be taught how to raise their poultry away from their homes and other animals, Nou Muth, a bird flu coordinator, said, adding volunteers are also needed to work with farmers and report cases of sick poultry and poultry deaths.

The recruitment was part of a foreign-sponsored programme to tighten surveillance in six provinces bordering Vietnam.  

Public understanding of the virus in Cambodia is low and there has been insufficient resources to conduct a public awareness campaign.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has blamed the lack of public education for the persistence of bird flu in the provinces near Vietnam.

Cambodia sought US$32.5 million to fight bird flu at a donor conference in Beijing in January.

In response, Germany has provided US$3 million to train 3,000 veterinary volunteers and equip surveillance teams.