New Delhi: India urged the global community to explore low-cost options to fight against avian and human influenza, to meet the projected needs for fund.

Addressing the international ministerial conference on avian and pandemic influenza in Delhi, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said that empowerment of the community was emerging as the most powerful tool in preparing for the pandemic and all countries and the organizations need to focus on this aspect.  

The World Bank has projected that for preparedness for avian and human influenza, developing countries would need to spend minimum $2.2 billion over a two to three year period, while international organizations would require $325 million to support the activities.

The current gap for mobilizing resources for country programmes is about $960 million or more than 40% of identified needs.

Top health and veterinary scientists, policy-makers and ministers from 105 nations and 20 international and intergovernmental organizations have applauded India’s phenomenal effort in dealing with crisis during two separate outbreaks in 2006 and 2007.

Ramadoss said, “Our national action plan for preparedness, control and containment of avian influenza recognizes that culling of affected birds will succeed only if poultry farmers are adequately compensated immediately after an outbreak is confirmed. We also compensated for feed destroyed in the operations.”

Peter Harrold, World Bank’s director of avian and human pandemic influenza overall operational response team, told TOI, “Compensation is most vital during a bird flu outbreak. Farmers have to feel they are getting a fair price. Or else they will hide their poultry and bird flu can go undetected. They may even resort to clandestinely selling the infected animals. India's poultry industry is mainly backyard and therefore more at risk.”

“India’s philosophy to compensate quickly and fairly at the district level is commendable. That's why farmers came out in the open and declared when their birds died,” said David Nabbaro, senior UN system influenza coordinator.

Joint secretary of the agriculture ministry Upma Chawdhry said, “We set the cost on the basis of market value which is the preferred global policy. Compensating farmers adequately led them against concealing their flock. We culled birds across a radius of 10 km in the 2006 outbreak. The Union and state governments shared the costs of compensation.”

Over $2.1 million had been paid by the Central Government as compensation for poultry and feed material last year.