Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS)

According to this article, the Jami’iyyah Communication Forum, an association of parents of approximately 8,000 children studying in 10 Al-Azhar Islamic schools in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia, has begun educating economically poor and marginalised people about avian influenza. In February 2007, the Forum organised a four-hour talk show to address basic information about avian flu. The audience, which was mostly made up of female members of the association, school drivers, students and teachers, learnt about the clinical symptoms of bird flu, how the disease is spread and preventative measures such as hand washing and proper cooking methods.

According to the article, the Forum organised the talk show to inform and educate people at the grassroots level about the dangers of bird flu. Many parents felt that the government’s avian flu awareness campaign - which included television and radio spots, flyers and billboards - was ineffective in educating economically poor people, who usually keep poultry in their homes. According to Rulie Bambang, head of the Jami’iyyah Communication Forum, “[t]he government relies too much on television campaigns, when in fact not all people in the villages have a television set."

By inviting mostly mothers and school drivers to the talk show, the Forum hoped that it would be able to help prevent the spread of avian influenza in the country. The Al-Azhar schools in Bekasi regency and municipality currently have around 100 drivers who pick up students in the morning and drop them home in the afternoon.



According to Bayu Krisnamurthi, the chief executive of Komnas FBPI, a ministry-level committee that coordinates actions aimed at controlling bird flu, the government is aware of the need to reach out and educate more people about avian flu. Krisnamurthi affirmed that the government plans to improve its bird flu control programmes, which will include increasing public awareness about avian flu.

In the meantime, the Forum intends to reach out to more people by increasing its bird flu awareness campaign to include garbage collectors and street vendors, two groups that encounter a high number of people on a daily basis.