International donors have pledged $1.9 billion to support a global fund to combat bird flu, EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said today after a conference in Beijing, exceeding an initial target.
The World Bank had hoped the donors' conference would raise at least $1.2 billion.
The United States responded with a pledge of about $334 million, saying in a statement the money would be mainly in the form of grants and technical assistance. The total EU pledge is nearly $250 million.
The Bank itself has estimated that a pandemic lasting a year could cost the global economy up to $800 billion. Across the globe, millions could die if the H5N1 avian flu virus mutates just enough to pass easily among people. Economies would be crippled for weeks or months.
"The amount asked for is small compared to the cost of a pandemic we are not ready for," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the conference in a video address. World Bank vice president Jim Adams said there was a recognition that if dealt with promptly, bird flu could be managed.
Of the total pledged, he said between $100 million and $200 million would go into a trust fund to be managed by the World Bank. Some of the rest would be managed bilaterally - between donors and targets of their choice. He said more than half the $1.9 billion was new commitments, not mentioned in previous aid programmes.
"My sense is that a large percentage of the money, certainly over 50 percent, is new money," he said. The H5N1 virus has killed at least 79 people since 2003, the vast majority in East Asia, and governments in affected countries have urged the world community to do more to tackle bird flu, including providing funds to compensate owners of culled poultry.
The virus has since spread to Turkey and is endemic in poultry in parts of Asia, where it continues to kill people and infect poultry flocks.
An Indonesian toddler died yesterday and was being tested for bird flu after his 13-year-old sister died of the virus, local tests show. Turkey confirmed its 21st human case, underscoring the urgent need to raise money to help improve veterinary and health services in poor countries.
"Partial approaches to donations only causes more burdens," Indonesian delegate Aburizal Bakrie told delegates.