This declaration was an outcome of the United Nations Regional Meeting on Avian Influenza in Africa by agencies of the United Nations system and government representatives from 45 countries of the African Region held in Libreville, Gabon, March 20-22 2006. The meeting followed the emergence and spread of avian influenza epizootics in Africa due to the highly pathogenic H5N1 (HPAI) strain and the threat of a human pandemic to the continent.

The gathering was attended by the Regional Directors of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN System Influenza Coordinator, the Deputy Director of the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and representatives of the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), the International Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the World Food Programme (WFP), government representatives and donors.

Some of the meeting’s considerations were:

• The global risk of avian flu due to the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain and following the spread of the epidemic from Asia to Europe and subsequently to Africa;
• The recent outbreaks of bird flu epidemic in Nigeria, Egypt, Niger and Cameroon and the potential risk of spread of the epizootics to other countries on the continent;
• The urgent need for immediate implementation of counter-epizootic measures in the control of avian influenza outbreaks in view of its socio-economic impacts and public health significance; and
• The weak or non-existent capacity for laboratory diagnosis of avian influenza virus for both animal and human health in Africa.

The statement included:

• a declaration of the need for a firm political commitment at the highest level of government and to ensure multi-sectoral coordination at the supra-ministerial level for the development of plans, the mobilisation of resources, implementation and monitoring of plans in close collaboration with community-based organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society and other actors;
• a declaration of the need for each country to give priority to the finalisation of an integrated, consolidated and multi-sectoral avian influenza and human pandemic preparedness and response plans;
• a declaration of the need for exchange of experiences and lessons learned including those of Asia and Europe in the preparedness and response to avian influenza outbreaks;
• an encouragement to countries to implement coherent programmes of public communication and awareness-raising in order to reduce the risk of spread of the epizootics and transmission of the disease to humans. These communication programmes should be developed in consultation with affected people; and
• a call on African countries to promptly notify the relevant international organisations, in accordance with the International Health Regulation (2005) and the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (2005), notably the OIE, WHO, FAO, AU-IBAR (African Union - Inter-African Bureau of Animal Resources).

WHO Africa website on April 5 2006.