USAID donates $200,000 to RP’s bird flu prevention effort

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is leading a host of donor agencies in infusing badly-needed funds for the Philippines’ anti bird flu program with a $200,000-grant to be released shortly to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

"Several donor agencies that we’ve talked to and which have been presented with our bird flu prevention program have committed to help us in this effort. We are optimistic that many more of these commitments will translate into more funds that we require," said Agriculture Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban.

He said that the USAID grant is expected to be put into a memorandum of understanding similar to the one signed this week with the New Zealand government which gave $340,000 to the DA’s Avian Influenza Prevention Program (AIPP).

DA officials said several other donor agencies have agreed to fund the AIPP after lead implementing agency Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) was able to address concerns raised earlier by these agencies regarding the establishment of an accountability structure to ensure the funds are properly managed and used solely for its intended purposes.

The DA last month held a pledging summit and invited donor agencies for its AIPP because it was finding it difficult to get Congressional support for its P2.5 billion supplemental budget for the program.

The AIPP will help boost BAI field personnel’s and local government units’ bird flu surveillance and diagnostic capabilities.

The project will include the conduct of a poultry population census in the country, surveillance studies, laboratory tests of blood samples of chickens and ducks in strategic areas, creation of an information management system and strengthening of research-based public awareness advocacy.

Panganiban said government is exhausting measures to prevent a bird-flu outbreak in the country to save the P180-billion local poultry industry.

Currently, the local poultry sector which is valued at about P180 billion and accounts for close to 16 percent of total agricultural output.

The large poultry integrators account for about 30 percent of the industry while the remaining 70 percent consist mostly of small to medium backyard raisers.