JAPAN CONTRIBUTES MORE ANTI-VIRAL DRUGS

FROM D. ARUL RAJOO

HANOI, May 26 (Bernama) -- Japan announced Monday that it would donate
another 500,000 doses of anti-viral drugs besides protective gear under a
stockpile project in Singapore to deal with a possible Influenza A H1N1
pandemic.

The new stockpile will come under the supervision of the Asia-Europe
Foundation (Asef) and its distribution will be on the instruction of the World
Health Organisation Western Pacific Regional Office (WHO-WPRO) in collaboration
with the Japan International Cooperation System.

Previously, Japan had made a similar contribution under the Asean + 3
framework, with Singapore also hosting the stockpile.

Speaking at the launching of "ASEM Initiative for the Rapid Containment of
Pandemic Influenza" on the sidelines of the Ninth Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM)
here, Japan Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said Influenza A H1N1 remained a
serious threat.

"This means that in practice, we must keep ourselves ready for the
worst-case scenario," he said.

During the Asean + 3 Health Ministers' Meeting in Bangkok last month, the
ministers said stockpiling was necessary as 90 percent of the world's vaccine
and anti-viral drug production was centred in Europe and the United States.

According to WHO, 43 countries have officially reported 12,022 cases of H1N1
infection, including 86 deaths.
-- BERNAMA