ASIA: Alarmed by the spread of bird flu beyond Asia, nations pledged $1.9 billion (€1.57 billion) yesterday to fight the virus and stave off a possible flu pandemic.
The amount far exceeded the $1.5 billion (€1.24 billion) the World Bank had said was needed to tackle the threat in developing countries, where dozens of people have been infected, mostly in southeast Asia.
The US pledged $334 million (€276 million), while the European Union promised nearly $260 million (€215 million).
David Nabarro, the UN co-ordinator on avian and human influenza, described the pledge as "brilliant" and "quite extraordinary".
"What we've seen today is that the world really does care and wants to respond effectively to the threat of avian influenza and a possible human pandemic," he said at the end of a two-day fundraising conference in Beijing.
Although primarily a disease affecting poultry, the H5N1 virus has jumped to humans, killing at least 79 people in Asia and Turkey since 2003.
Just after the conference ended, China reported bird flu had killed a 35-year-old woman - the country's sixth victim - who had handled sick chickens.
An 11-year-old Turkish girl died yesterday of suspected bird flu, the Anatolian news agency said, citing a senior hospital official. If confirmed, it would bring the number who have died from the H5N1 virus in Turkey to five over the past two weeks.
In Iraq, the World Health Organisation was investigating whether a teenage girl who died of a severe lung infection had contracted the virus.
With a mortality rate of over 50 per cent, experts are worried that the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily from person to person, sparking a flu pandemic killing millions.
So far, most human cases have been traced to contact with infected birds.
A senior World Bank official said that 2005 had been a taxing time for the donor community, but that the amount of money pledged yesterday reflected international concerns about bird flu.
"The donor community came to Beijing focused on avian flu and I think it's been a very strong commitment," said Jim Adams, a World Bank vice-president who leads its avian flu taskforce.
But, he said, nations now needed to focus on using that money effectively.
The UN food and agriculture organisation said fighting bird flu in poultry was the best way to prevent the likelihood of a human flu pandemic.
"Avian flu should not be considered as a human health issue, but as a human and animal health issue," said David Harcharik, the FAO's deputy director-general.
The US will take a leadership role in managing the funds and ensure they are channelled to where they can be of most use, said Nancy Powell, the US co-ordinator for health, science and the environment.