August 14, 2007

ACDI/VOCA Partners with USAID to Combat Avian Influenza in Egypt

ACDI/VOCA has partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to strengthen Egypt’s response to avian influenza (AI) by conducting a public awareness campaign throughout the country to prevent and mitigate outbreaks. Under its four-year, $8.3 million USAID-funded Agricultural Exports and Rural Incomes-Dairy and Livestock project (AERI-Dairy and Livestock), ACDI/VOCA has launched a vast distribution campaign of 24,500 informational brochures in Upper and Lower Egypt to increase public awareness about the AI pandemic and disseminate risk-prevention messages against human infection of the AI virus H5N1.

Egypt confirmed its first H5N1 outbreak in poultry on February 2006, which was followed by its first case of human infection in March 2006. In Egypt, especially in rural areas, poultry are traditionally kept inside of households, creating a situation of close contact between humans and birds, which increases the risk of humans contracting AI from infected animals. Several confirmed AI human infection cases in Egypt stemmed from humans developing symptoms following close contact with household flocks that had become diseased. The virus has been reported in 18 of Egypt’s 26 governorates, and, according to the World Health Organization, there were 37 confirmed cases in Egypt as of June 2007, out of which 15 have been fatal. The most recent case was confirmed on July 25th as the 38th human case.

To protect public health and combat further AI infections, on July 1, 2007, the Egypt Ministry of Health & Population, Egypt Ministry of Agriculture and Egypt Ministry of International Cooperation and the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Francis Ricciardone signed a memorandum of understanding to partner in an effort to raise public awareness and prevent further outbreaks. Under the agreement, the U.S. government, through USAID, will provide an estimated $24 million in grant and project support funds over the next three years to combat AI in Egypt.

As part of the effort, ACDI/VOCA distributed thousands of informational brochures to smallholder livestock farmers and association members that have received assistance from the AERI-Dairy and Livestock project and also to the public at large through a vast network of NGOs, government agencies and community groups and forums, such as mosques and newspapers stands. With colorful illustrations and simple language, the brochures explain the nature of AI and associated risks for poultry and humans, in addition to demonstrating how to practice good prevention measures to mitigate risk of infection for both poultry and humans.

ACDI/VOCA implements the AERI-Dairy and Livestock project by applying a market-driven, business-oriented approach, which employs a range of technical and business improvement strategies that focus on small producers, value-adding processors and private and public sector service providers. The goal of the project is to increase rural incomes and smallholder productive assets. To learn more click here.