Nepal to get bird flu control grant
The World Bank (WB) will provide US$18.2 million to Nepal to help fund a four-year avian influenza control project.
Although Nepal has not reported any cases of bird flu, authorities say that it is better to take precautions sooner rather than later.
Manas Banerjee, acting director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD), said the programme will be launched in January but the agreement will be signed in February.
The decision to offer the grant was taken at a four-day meeting in New Delhi this month, where World Bank representatives, met with Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Madhav Ghimire, EDCD director and the director of the Livestock Department.
“The fund will be utilised in implementing the ‘National Avian Influenza and Pandemic Preparedness and Response (NAIPPR)’ programme prepared by the government,” Banerjee said.
The NAIPPR programme focuses on planning and coordination, surveillance of human influenza, prevention and containment of avian influenza, health systems preparedness and response, communication and the Ministry of Health’s laboratory capacity development.
The Health Ministry, Ministry of Local Development, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives will jointly support the program.
The WB has committed to providing US$500 million for avian flu control across the globe.
Join 31,000+ subscribers
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated about all the need-to-know content in the poultry sector, three times a week.
