Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi attends talks with leaders from the ASEAN in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The government plans to disburse the money for various projects by next March to help the region hardest hit by avian flu to stockpile the antiviral drug Tamiflu and vaccinate people with a high risk of infection to prevent an outbreak of a new type of influenza. Tokyo will finance part of the total cost with a supplementary budget it plans to compile for the current fiscal year through next March.

Under the plan, $46.8 million will be used to help Asian countries, centering on ASEAN members, to stockpile Tamiflu for 500,000 people and to provide them with influenza test kits and sanitary clothing for 700,000 people.

To support countries where people have been affected by avian flu infections, Japan will offer $49.1 million through international agencies for vaccination projects and $19.3 million for steps to strengthen their control of the epidemic among chickens.

The package includes the $2 million Koizumi pledged during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held in South Korea in November to enhance the World Health Organization's surveillance and drug distribution capacities.

Koizumi also promised to send Japanese academic experts on infectious diseases to Vietnam, Thailand and China to conduct joint research and said Japan will host an international conference in Tokyo on Jan. 12-13 to discuss the early containment of a possible pandemic.

Japan will also provide training to more than 100 Asian researchers, medical personnel, animal health specialists and health-care administrators every year for the next three years.

At least 70 people have died from avian flu since 2003, all of them in East Asia -- Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 17, 2005
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