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Uganda: World Bank Gives Country Sh16 Billion for Bird Flu
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New Vision (Kampala)
20 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Thomas Pere
Kampala
The World Bank Group has approved a credit of $10m (sh16.5b) to finance a four-year avian and human influenza preparedness and response project for Uganda.
The project will support efforts to reduce the threat posed to humans and poultry by avian influenza (bird flu) and other diseases that can be transmitted from animals to human beings.
"Avian influenza is a serious health concern because of the potential threat it poses if it mutates in ways that would allow sustained humanto-human transmission," explained Wilson Odwongo, the team leader for the project.
Uganda is among the countries in sub-Saharan Africa that face a high risk of a bird flu outbreak because it is crisscrossed by several routes for migratory birds, which are carriers of the virus.
Uganda is also engaged in a thriving, but poorly-regulated cross-border poultry trade with neighbouring countries which could easily result in importation of the virus.
The practice of backyard and free-range poultry rearing in most Ugandan households also provides opportunities for the free range birds to mix with wild migratory birds, which could be carrying the influenza virus.
"While an avian and human influenza outbreak has not yet occurred in Uganda, the negative socio-economic impact of an outbreak would be enormous and devastating.
What the Bank is doing, therefore, is to support the Government to prevent a situation which could potentially be disastrous," said Kundhavi Kadiresan, the World Bank Uganda country manager.
The bird flu project has four components: The animal health element will be the primary focus and will receive sh9b. The money will be used to facilitate the Uganda Wildlife Authority to carry out monitoring and surveillance in key landing sites for migratory birds.
The human health component will receive sh3b to strengthen preparedness and response to avian influenza, while the third component, will focus on communication.
About sh2.7b will be used to tackle social beliefs, practices and perceptions that foster the spread of the disease.
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The fourth component will focus on coordination, monitoring and evaluation of activities and will receive about sh742m.
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