May 22, 2006

 

World health assembly to speed efforts to curb bird flu

 

The 192-nation World Health Assembly plans to speed efforts to contain any pandemic resulting from bird flu, a top official says.

 

Fast implementation of a new system to detect and report disease outbreaks will receive top priority at the weeklong annual meeting starting Monday (May 22) aimed at sharpening the global effort to contain the most dangerous diseases, Denis Aitken, assistant director-general of the World Health Organization said.

 

The six-day meeting, attended by more than 100 health ministers and other high officials would kick off with Taiwan's 10th bid for observer status so that it can better join in efforts to contain disease outbreaks like bird flu.

 

But Aitken said the bid - with support from the US and strong opposition from China - is again likely to fail because most of the member countries accept Beijing's one China policy that holds that Taiwan is a Chinese province and not a separate nation.

 

However, on a practical level, the WHO is better able to work with Taiwan's government in fighting disease under a 2005 agreement which confirms the ability to send in experts to Taiwan in emergency situations.

 

"We can say that they are fully covered," Aitken said. "With the ability now, we don't see any gap in coverage."

 

WHO sent an expert to Taiwan during the 2003 outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, and the new agreement confirms that that there is no problem in continuing the practice, he said.

 

Aitken said Taiwan had notified WHO that it intended to join immediately in a system expected to be approved by the assembly setting up formal notification procedures for disease outbreaks such as bird flu.

 

The proposal is for the assembly to approve early, voluntary implementation of the International Health Regulations adopted last year. Aitken said the assembly is expected to approve the decision - which would speed up implementation by more than a year - and that many nations will start immediately with new procedures.

 

Under the regulations, which deal with all diseases which may have a public emergency health risk, countries and the WHO set up formal procedures for rapid notification of outbreaks.

 

"We expect many countries to sign up voluntarily to do it," said Aitken. "All of the key articles of the International Health Regulations will then apply for avian flu purposes from now."