ADB To Help Fight Communicable Diseases In Indonesia, Malaysia, And Philippines

Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Article Date: 24 Jan 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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A US$1.2 million Asian Development Bank (ASX: ATB) technical assistance (TA) grant will help Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines fight the spread of communicable and infectious diseases and to achieve the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The recent outbreaks of severe emerging infectious diseases such as SARS and more recently H5N1 avian influenza have focused attention on the weakness of epidemiological surveillance and response systems in developing countries and the heightened vulnerability of people living in Asia.

The TA will strengthen the surveillance and preparedness systems of the three countries so that they can better detect and respond to these and other diseases.

It will also help develop a comprehensive system for investigation, case management, and mitigation at local, national, and subregional levels; an improved information and communication mechanism; and supportive national policies for communicable disease control.

"If communicable diseases are not controlled, progress toward reducing child and maternal mortality is unlikely," says Richard Ondrik, an ADB Senior Project Implementation Specialist. "Thus, if the MDGs are to be achieved, a major reduction in the high levels of communicable diseases in the three countries is required."

The World Health Organization warns that the avian influenza virus could evolve into a human influenza virus leading to a global pandemic, while the SARS virus could make a return to Asia. All three countries are vulnerable to outbreaks of such diseases and any one of them could form the epicenter of a pandemic.

HIV/AIDS, meanwhile, is spreading in the three countries. Indonesia has reached a concentrated epidemic stage in certain geographic areas, while there are concentrated epidemics among intravenous drug user and commercial sex worker populations in Malaysia. The Philippines, despite its relatively low HIV/AIDS prevalence, remains vulnerable.

HIV/AIDS, SARS, and avian influenza have also reinforced the need for regional cooperation for communicable disease control.

"The three countries are already working closely together through regional organizations," Mr. Ondrik adds. "Rapid identification of disease outbreaks and a coordinated regional response will help to limit the diseases' impact."

At the same time, communicable diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, malaria, typhoid, and dengue, cause significant morbidity and mortality. The incidence of hepatitis C and dengue hemorrhagic fever is approaching epidemic proportions in the three countries, while poliomyelitis recently re-emerged in Indonesia.

"These neglected endemic diseases are often concentrated in impoverished populations living in marginalized areas or urban slums. They disproportionately affect children and affect school attendance, cognitive development, physical growth, and productivity," says Mr. Ondrik.

The total cost of the TA is estimated at $1.7 million, and the three participating countries will shoulder the balance of $500,000. The TA will be carried out over about 18 months beginning in March 2006.

Contact:
Floyd Whaley
Email: fwhaley@adb.org
Tel:+632 632 6848; +63 9717 888 6848
Graham Dwyer
Email: gdwyer@adb.org
Tel:+632 632 5253; +632 898 3413

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