Uganda: Seeking $14m for national plan on bird flu

About $4 million is needed immediately for the setting up of national facilities for testing, training technicians and sample collection. The Ugandan Cabinet is set to meet to discuss how to raise the $14 million needed for the setting up of a national plan for preparedness and response to avian influenza (bird flu). Although no case of bird flu has been confirmed in the country, officials are leaving nothing to chance over the H5N1 virus, which has already affected poultry stocks in Nigeria, Egypt and Niger, and which is potentially fatal if passed on to humans.