The World Bank awarded Armenia a grant in the amount of $2 million for the Avian Influenza Preparedness (AIP) Project-as part of the Avian and Human Influenza Facility (AHI), a multi-donor financing mechanism. The Grant program is aimed to support integrated interventions in the animal and human health aspects.

This Grant is in addition to a $6.25 million IDA credit and a $0.8 million Japanese Grant approved by the World Bank under the Global Program for Avian and Human Influenza Control and Preparedness (GPAI) for Armenia. The GPAI provides emergency financing to participating countries, in order to contain outbreaks of avian flu through early detection and rapid response measures and to help countries prepare for a possible human influenza pandemic.

"Today's approval provides the opportunity to Armenia to more completely prepare for the potential of an avian influenza outbreak as well as be better prepared for other contagious diseases," said Frauke Jungbluth, who leads the Bank's task team responsible for supervising the AIP project. "Given the recent outbreaks of avian flu in Turkey, Hungary, UK and Russia and seasonal risks, it is critical to maintain the momentum and to continue avian influenza preparedness activities in earnest," she said, reports newsarmenia.ru