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MANILA, PHILIPPINES - ADB, in partnership with the World Health Organization, will help three Mekong countries contain the spread of emerging diseases, including avian influenza, at the local level, improve care of communicable diseases among vulnerable populations, and strengthen regional coordination.

ADB will provide a grant of US$30 million from its Asian Development Fund, representing 77.4% of the total cost of the project. The balance will be met by the World Health Organization and the participating governments.

To be conducted within the framework of the ADB-backed Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) economic cooperation program, it will be carried out in targeted provinces, most of them border provinces, of Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Viet Nam.

GMS leaders, at their summit meeting earlier this year, proposed stronger regional collaboration for the control of communicable diseases in view of the continuing threat from HIV/AIDS and emerging infectious diseases such as avian influenza.

"The project aims to help stem the spread of epidemic disease at local level, and at the same time reduce the burden of common endemic diseases in the targeted provinces by about 15%, and more for certain infections," says Vincent de Wit, an ADB Principal Health Specialist.

The three Mekong countries have made remarkable progress in improving the health of their populations over the past few decades and in working to put in place stronger policy frameworks and primary health care systems. However, they face serious staff and budget constraints and are in danger of failing to meet their health-related Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets.

"Achieving the health-related MDGs requires that the countries make more effort in providing primary health care to remote populations that are particularly at risk from a high burden of infectious and reproductive diseases, and improve the affordability and quality of health care," Mr. de Wit adds.

The emergence of SARS in 2003 and avian influenza in the last two years have demonstrated that, apart from the human cost, the economic impact from these diseases can reach billions of dollars because of declining tourism, reduced flows of foreign investment and export restrictions.

To ensure national economic and health security, epidemics must be contained at their source and their potential spread elsewhere minimized.

The project will help develop surveillance and response systems, and build capacity for implementing the new International Health Regulations of the World Health Organization. It will support 26 provinces (five in Cambodia, six in Lao PDR, and 15 in Viet Nam) chosen for their regional links, high burden of infectious diseases, and vulnerability of their populations, to integrate and improve communicable diseases control, including for neglected diseases and HIV/AIDS.

It will also promote regional coordination for control of communicable diseases by building capacity in the Ministries of Health, promoting regional policy dialogue, facilitating cross-border communication, and supporting regional institutions in operations research on topics relevant to the region, including HIV/AIDS control.

The respective national health ministries will be the executing agencies for the project, which is due for completion around the end of 2009. A regional coordination unit will be set up in Hanoi to help implement regional activities.

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