CARE-Bangladesh convenes international NGOs as more outbreaks of avian flu are reported

Two more avian influenza (AI) outbreaks on farms in Bangladesh’s Jessore district and Savar have been reported by Bangladesh’s Fisheries and Livestock Ministry. Since the detection of the virus in late March 2007, 79,000 chickens have been culled on 32 farms across 8 districts. At the weekend, a team of ten FAO experts arrived in Bangladesh to visit farms, labs and conduct interviews. The Government of Bangladesh has announced a compensation scheme of 70 taka (US$1) for every chicken culled. However reports have stated that communication about this compensation scheme has not yet been effectively replayed to poultry owners.

A CARE Working Group and Core team have been established to develop an AI contingency plan, identify priority activities to be implemented within CARE programs, and maintain communication with the Government of Bangladesh (GoB). On April 9^th CARE Bangladesh hosted a Coordination Meeting on AI, convening representatives from major international NGOs (Oxfam, Plan, MCC-Bangladesh, Concern Worldwide, International Development Enterprises and Helen Keller International) in order to share experiences and identify collective roles to support the Government against AI. The participants agreed:

• To asses their network capacity in terms of partner NGOs the communities they work with
• Build partnerships with other domestic NGOs
• Collect and print accurate information and training materials to be distributed to staff, partner NGOs, farmers, and other beneficiaries.

Source: CARE Bangladesh & Reuters: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/DHA226251.htm

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