(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-09 10:06

GENEVA - Health and veterinary officials from across the world hope to clinch a global plan for tackling bird flu, funded by a $1 billion World Bank war chest, at a conference on Wednesday.

Controlling the spread of avian flu in birds is top priority, but gearing up public health preparations in case the H5N1 virus mutates into one that could cause a deadly human pandemic is vital, they say.

On the final day of three-day talks in Geneva, the World Bank will reveal its proposed $1 billion package, half of which it aims to provide through its grants or interest-free loans and half through a trust fund financed by donors.

Jim Adams, World Bank vice-president for operations policy and country services, will make a financial presentation on how the world can meet immediate, "rapid reaction" needs and medium-term requirements.

"My hope is that we will get the framework of how financing can be done. I am pretty confident," Adams told Reuters.

"The second thing we want is an understanding of what needs to be done between now and January to put financial proposals on the table," he added.

The idea is for bilateral and multilateral donors to make pledges at a conference in January in Shanghai, China, he said.

Funding for United Nations agencies at the frontline of the bird flu battle, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), will also be covered, he said.

Bernard Vallat, director-general of the World Animal Health Organization (OIE), said that in two days of debate the meeting had agreed "financial support was crucial, particularly for developing countries," adding this would be discussed on Wednesday.

GOOD START

A World Bank team has drawn up a country model or template for assessing financial needs, according to Adams. "It is what a sample program would look like both in endemic countries and in countries at risk. It is a good start," he said.

Vietnam, the country hardest hit by bird flu, reported its 42nd death from the disease on Tuesday and a senior official said in Geneva that it needed $150 million in aid to fight the virus in poultry and humans over the next five years.

The World Bank says a flu pandemic lasting a year could cost the global economy up to $800 billion.

The H5N1 bird flu virus has killed 64 people in Asia since 2003, including the latest victim, a 35-year-old man in Hanoi. An Indonesian girl has also died of suspected bird flu.

All of the victims have had close contact with birds. So far the H5N1 virus has not shown it can spread easily between people.

African countries, believed by many experts to be the next frontline in the fight against bird flu appealed for more funds to shore up their defenses.

"Africa is the most exposed but least prepared for the bird flu virus," Kenyan government delegate Rachel Arungah said.

She highlighted fears that if a compensation system is not worked out in advance for farmers, cases could go unreported.