In view of the situation in Iraq, I was on the phone talking to the company and they are willing to provide in the order of 7-10,000 treatment courses and we are trying to ship them as soon as possible to the ground.
H5N1 is primarily an animal disease. However, given its expanding geographical scope and that H5N1 is endemic in some countries, our assessment is that the risk of pandemic is great. Timing is unpredictable and the severity is uncertain.
The Chinese government has taken very effective measures, and they are making improvements every month, even every day.
I think this is a very strong message coming from the U.S. government,
Maternal mortality health is a very sensitive indicator. All you need to look at is a country's maternal mortality rate. That is a surrogate for whether the country's health system is functioning. If it works for women, I'm sure it will work for men.
We should never forget the government should be held accountable for providing services.
This change to a higher phase of alert is a signal to governments, to ministries of health and other ministries, to the pharmaceutical industry and the business community that certain actions now should be undertaken with increased urgency and at an accelerated pace.
I am personally overseeing changes that include the establishment of a global health emergency workforce.
Health system development is a key to effective detection, response, and control of any outbreak.
My argument is, whatever resources you put in place, compared to the possible economic loss in the event of a pandemic, is peanuts.