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JAKARTA : Indonesia is fighting an uphill battle in its fight against bird flu.
The nation worst hit by the bird flu virus is now jointly working with neighbouring Singapore to control the spread of the H5N1 virus.
This latest project will involve the United States and a number of international agencies.
75 human deaths out of the total 95 infected cases - that's the casualty rate in Indonesia from the bird flu virus.
It's the highest incidence in the world, and efforts are on to prevent any possible human pandemic.
The district of Tangerang, with one of the highest bird flu fatalities, has been chosen to pilot the US$4.5 million project.
Singapore is contributing US$1.5 million in addition to manpower and expertise.
"It includes strategies in surveillance of the disease in animals and humans, management of infected patients and control of disease in animals, including restructuring of the poultry farming system," says Singapore's Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan.
The three-year project will see collaborations with agencies like the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation.
"The objective of the pilot project is to translate Indonesia's national plan in a defined, localised geographical area, so as to determine and reduce the prevalence of the H5N1 avian influenza in this area by testing out how recommended approaches work on the ground. We would like to see it not on paper or theory, but how it'll work on the ground," says Aburizal Bakrie, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare.
If successful, the model will be replicated in other parts of Indonesia.
The H5N1 virus has been found in 30 of the country's 33 provinces. And research has shown that the strain found in Indonesia is the most potent.
"Hopefully this human pandemic will never emerge, but we'll never know. As health ministers, we have to be prepared for the worst," says Mr Khaw.
Many experts see Indonesia as a weak link in the global effort to avert a possible pandemic.
But to be fair, there are huge challenges facing this big country, and the decentralised nature of the government's administration has complicated response efforts.
It is hoped that working directly with authorities at the local level such as Tangerang will bear faster and better results. - CNA /ls
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