MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (April 29, 2009) — World Vision warned on Wednesday that the spread of swine flu to developing countries without adequate means to track the outbreak or to treat those infected could prove disastrous.

As the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the pandemic alert to phase four¹, World Vision's Emergency Health Director Dr. Mesfin Teklu said that a lack of access to essential health care means communities in poor countries are more likely than developed nations to suffer from such new viruses.
 
“In the last six years, of the 257 recorded human deaths from bird flu, none were in developed countries²,” said Teklu. “It is communities in countries such as Indonesia, Myanmar and Bangladesh where health systems and structures are inadequate that people died from the disease.”
 
“Both avian flu and swine flu have highlighted a critical weakness in the way the world addresses health threats. While we have effective mechanisms for tracking the disease globally, led and coordinated by the WHO, countries' ability to deal with a pandemic within their borders vary enormously, putting many at risk,” he said.
 
Currently, confirmed and suspected outbreaks of swine flu are in countries with relatively developed public health systems. World Vision is concerned that the virus might spread to developing countries with weak national health systems such as Guatemala and El Salvador.

“In poorer countries where health system coverage is inadequate, such as Honduras, Kenya and Cambodia, the ability of states to respond to the threat is seriously compromised by their inability to effectively track the spread of the disease, to tap into heath care structures that are able to inform the population of the risks and encourage behaviour change, or to distribute essential medication to address the virus,” Teklu said.
 
Each year more than nine million children die of preventable causes, so keeping children healthy should be a vital cornerstone of the development agenda. Nevertheless many global donors have yet to deliver promised aid funding for health. Also, many national governments are failing to prioritize essential country-wide health provision and community-based health systems strengthening, and to adequately educate communities about simple, effective health interventions that could save many lives.

Dr. Teklu added, “Swine flu has demonstrated that quality national healthcare provision is actually a global issue and must be dealt with as such. Alongside its response to the current crisis, the international community must focus immediate attention on developing and strengthening health systems that penetrate down to the community level. This will ensure that when such health threats do emerge we are able to respond to them effectively as a global community.”

Through established partnerships with the WHO and networks with other agencies, World Vision is planning for the possibility of further global spread. The agency is also educating its staff worldwide on precautions, using comprehensive guidelines that World Vision developed in recent years for international pandemic preparedness.
 

Note to editors:

• ¹ Human-to-human transmission and community-level outbreaks.
• ² http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2009_04_23/en/index.html
• Mesfin Teklu Tessema, Emergency Health Specialist, Global Rapid Response Team, World Vision International. Based in Nairobi, Kenya. Mesfin Teklu, MD, MAHA, leads the coordination of health and nutrition programming into World Vision's Humanitarian Emergency Affairs and disaster response interventions.
• World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

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Alex Sancton
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