Foreign donors pledge $406 million to combat H5N1

"Foreign donors have pledged $406 million in additional funds for efforts to combat bird flu, but another $800 million is still needed and countries still need to be better prepared for any pandemic, officials said on Thursday.

The funds were pledged on the final day of a three-day summit in New Delhi, India, of experts on avian influenza from across the world, aimed at coordinating strategies to combat the disease.

Last year at a similar meeting around $475 million was pledged by donors, but experts played down the apparent shortfall in funding, saying they were confident further funds would be forthcoming.

The United States, the largest donor in the fight against bird flu, raised its pledge to $629 million, an additional $195 million in funding."

Full story: http://in.reuters.com/article/health/idINDEL16049420071206