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Mar 15 16:09
US has yet to meet its promise to help Indonesia's bird flu
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said a promise made by the US government last year to provide USD3.1 million worth in assistance to Indonesia to combat the spread of bird flu had yet to be met.
"The US Health Secretary who visited Indonesia last year pledged to give USD3.1 million assistance, but till now it has not yet been realized," she said here recently.
The assistance pledged by the US would be used to provide 44 designated hospitals with equipments required to handle the bird flu infection.
"We need a fund to equip 44 designated hospitals with public movement program," he said.
Considering the fund has yet to be handed over, she further said that at present the Health Ministry had to use the state budget to make the programs run as expected.
The minister pointed out that in order to improve the capacity of the 44 designated hospitals to handle bird flu-infected patients, the government needed at least Rp44 billion, while for buying five million oseltamivir/ tamiflu (anti avian influenza virus pills) the government needed a fund amounting to around Rp88 billion.
The minister said in addition to the US, The European Union earlier also promised to provide 30 million Euro worth in assistance to ASEAN countries to help them combat the spread of bird flu and in fact the assistance was not a part of new budget, but it was only a transfer of fund usually allocated for health program which was often given to ASEAN countries.
Data from the US embassy in Jakarta said that the US assistance to Indonesia in the Fiscal Year 2006 include: Education: $31.9 million, Health & Water: $33.3 million, Democracy: $36.3 million, Economic Growth: $21.9 million, Environment: $6.9 million, Tsunami reconstruction: $400 million, Avian Influenza: $11 million, and Peace in Aceh: $11 million. (*)
US has yet to meet its promise to help Indonesia's bird flu
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said a promise made by the US government last year to provide USD3.1 million worth in assistance to Indonesia to combat the spread of bird flu had yet to be met.
"The US Health Secretary who visited Indonesia last year pledged to give USD3.1 million assistance, but till now it has not yet been realized," she said here recently.
The assistance pledged by the US would be used to provide 44 designated hospitals with equipments required to handle the bird flu infection.
"We need a fund to equip 44 designated hospitals with public movement program," he said.
Considering the fund has yet to be handed over, she further said that at present the Health Ministry had to use the state budget to make the programs run as expected.
The minister pointed out that in order to improve the capacity of the 44 designated hospitals to handle bird flu-infected patients, the government needed at least Rp44 billion, while for buying five million oseltamivir/ tamiflu (anti avian influenza virus pills) the government needed a fund amounting to around Rp88 billion.
The minister said in addition to the US, The European Union earlier also promised to provide 30 million Euro worth in assistance to ASEAN countries to help them combat the spread of bird flu and in fact the assistance was not a part of new budget, but it was only a transfer of fund usually allocated for health program which was often given to ASEAN countries.
Data from the US embassy in Jakarta said that the US assistance to Indonesia in the Fiscal Year 2006 include: Education: $31.9 million, Health & Water: $33.3 million, Democracy: $36.3 million, Economic Growth: $21.9 million, Environment: $6.9 million, Tsunami reconstruction: $400 million, Avian Influenza: $11 million, and Peace in Aceh: $11 million. (*)