Mali, December 8, 2006 - Donors meeting at an avian flu summit in Bamako, Mali, have today pledged approximately $US 475 million in new grants to help countries worldwide to fight highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry and other birds, while simultaneously preparing for a possible human influenza pandemic.

At a press conference in the Malian capital, to announce the results of the donor summit, the UNfs Senior Influenza Coordinator, Dr. David Nabarro, said he was very pleased with the final outcome.

''This is a clear sign that the international community remains firmly focused on the fight against avian influenza, with a special emphasis on Africa, which remains vulnerable to the spread of the H5N1 virus.''

Nabarro said that more donor financing would certainly be available over the coming months as donors move into new budget cycles in the coming financial year.

According to the World Bank, considerable additional money is also available from the multilateral development banks, which together with the news grants announced today in Mali, would ensure that all countries get the financial and technical support they need to control avian flu in their poultry flocks, while protecting their communities from the risk of a human influenza pandemic.

''We have more than US$600 million available from the development banks in the form of zero-interest credits and other loans to fight avian flu in developing countries,h said John McIntire, Special Representative of the World Bank to the Fourth International Conference on Avian Influenza in Mali. gPoor people rely increasingly on poultry, ducks, and other birds to earn income, and as a major source of protein in their diets, so stamping out avian flu is very much a key development challenge.''

The leading donors at the Mali summit were the European Commission and the European Union (US$ 131); the United States (US$100 million); Canada (US$ 92.5 million); and Japan (US$ 67 million).

 For more on the UN and World Bankfs work in avian flu, click here: http://influenza.un.org and http://worldbank.org/avianflu

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