Avian Flu Briefing Modified from Mary Harvey

1
Southern Africa Regional Workshop on Notifiable
Avian Influenza
Avian Influenza The Challenge to Africa and
USAIDs Response
March 7, 2006
2
Essential and Primary Actions

• Strengthen International and cross-sector
  Partnerships on Avian and Pandemic Influenza to
  improve surveillance/detection
• Improve Communications alerting the public as to
  how to prevent the spread of AI from animal to
  human
• Containment of and reducing the spread of the
  disease in animals.

3
U.S. Government Response
A Coordinated USG Approach

• DoD
• Reference Lab Laboratory capacity building
  outbreak response training
• HHS, CDC
• Surveillance and diagnostics, pandemic planning,
  research, communications
• USDA
• TA for animal surveillance and diagnostics,
  containment prevention measures, planning
• State
• Public diplomacy, diplomatic engagement, delivery
  of donated supplies, coordination (drafting joint
  USG international strategy)

4
Meeting the Challenge in Africa
Applying the Lessons Learned from Southeast Asia,
Middle East and Europe

• Strong National Leadership Required
• Need to Establish a National Task Force
• Realistic Assessments of preparedness
• Development and Implementation of AI Preparedness
  Response Plan
• Coordinated Monitoring of AI Infection Among Wild
  Birds and Poultry
• Open and timely reporting of outbreaks
• IT CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE, ANYTIME

5
Our Response
What is USAID doing?
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USAID Response Globally

• GLOBALLY
• USAID funding in FY 2005 for AI 22.1 million
• US13.7 million for SE Asia
• helping contain the spread in animal populations
• reducing risk of human infection
• support preparedness planning
• US8.5 million for Eastern Europe, Eurasia
  Africa
• supporting early surveillance diagnosis
• strengthening prevention measures
• communication education campaigns

7
USAID Response Globally

• GLOBALLY, cont
• USAID funding for FY 2006 for AI worldwide over
  US130 million
• Overall the US Government has pledged to provide
  more than US334 million in grants and technical
  assistance worldwide to developing countries
  dealing with the threat of Avian Influenza
• USAID funding for FY2007 for AI worldwide is
  expected but this year more emphasis on Africa

8
Meeting the Challenge in Africa

• USAIDs INITIAL REPONSES IN AFRICA
• USAID/Washington
• Avian Influenza Response concept paper July 2005
• Convened Washington meeting with representatives
  of the African Diplomatic Corps
• Hosted discussions with USAID/African mission
  health officers and FAO
• Established a Washington AI Task Force
• Mandated the establishment of a network of AI
  Focal Points (animal health, human health and
  communications) at each USAID/Africa Mission
• Mandated active participation by mission AI Focal
  Points on US Embassy Task Forces and
  participation wherever requested, on National AI
  Task Forces

9
Meeting the Challenge in Africa

• USAIDs INITIAL REPONSES IN AFRICA
• USAID/Washington, cont.
• Support to WHO/AFRO for regional AI activities
• Support to FAO for AI meetings and future
  activities
• Active participation in the International
  Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza
  (IPAPI)
• USAID/Regional Offices
• Coordination with regional intergovernmental
  bodies (SADC, ECOWAS, IGAD, etc.)
• Development of sub-regional USAID AI Strategies
  and regional activities for East (REDSO/Nairobi),
  West (WARP/Accra), Southern (RCSA/Gaborone)

10
Meeting the Challenge in Africa

• USAIDs INITIAL REPONSES IN AFRICA, continued
• USAID/ Bilateral Country Missions
• Tanzania, Ethiopia Ghana technical support
  funding for
• Country AI assessments
• Wild bird surveillance
• Strengthening of national and regional laboratory
  capacity
• Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique and Senegal helped
  establish Cross-sector National Avian Influenza
  Task Forces
• USAID/Tanzania and USAID/Ethiopia redirected
  US675,000 for immediate surveillance and testing
• Multiple USAID offices have redirected another
  US1.5 million unspent from the Tsunami
  Reconstruction and Relief Fund to bolster
  monitoring and combating the spread of H5N1.

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Meeting the Challenge in Africa

• USAIDs INITIAL REPONSES IN AFRICA, continued
• USAID/ Bilateral Country Missions, cont
• Nigeria, Feb 2006 after H5N1 confirmed
• USAID shipped to Nigeria 2000 kits of personal
  protective equipment to help animal and human
  health workers respond
• USAID deployed a communications expert to assist
  in raising public awareness in close
  collaboration with UNICEF
• USAID sent teams of experts to investigate the
  source of the outbreaks and provide technical
  assistance in close collaboration with the
  Nigerian government

12
Meeting the Challenge in Africa

• USAID will continue to work aggressively to help
  at-risk developing countries. For example, most
  at-risk are thought to be those
• On key migratory bird routes
• With high levels of live bird trade (formal or
  informal and international) (wild or domestic)
• With high levels of trade in packaged poultry or
  game birds (formal or informal and international)
  

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The US Government Strategy

• Globally the USG is focused on building
• Strong leadership, coordination communication
• Essential and Primary Activities that build
• Partnerships to improve Surveillance/Detection
• Communications to improve Preparedness
• Rapid Response for Containment in animals

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Web Sites More Information

• http//pandemicflu.gov/
• http//www.usaid.gov/index.html
• Thank you for your continued...
• participation in this process!