January 2, 2007

Indonesia to allocate US$ 61 million for bird flu control in 2007

Indonesia plans to allocate US$ 61 million for an anti-bird flu drive next year, an increase from the US$ 55 million it budgeted this year, an official said.

The increase in the bird flu budget would hopefully serve as a new stimulus to resolving the spread of H5N1 virus through the 2007 bird flu control programme, Bayu Krisnamurthi, chief of the National Committee for Bird Flu Control was quoted by the national Antara news agency as saying.

Most of this current aid from the key partners was channelled through the representatives of international agencies. However, nearly 60 percent of next year's aid would directly be given to the government, he said.