German Bank Supports RI's National Plan To Fight Avian Flu

Jakarta, March 26 (Antara) - A Germany-based banking institution, KfW, has provided a grant to the Indonesian Government to strengthen its Avian Influenza prevention and control system for animal health, according to a press release received here on Wednesday. According to the written statement, the grant from Kfw has been used for the construction and equipment of a state-of-the-art Bio-Safety Level (BSL) 3 facility at the National Veterinary Drug Assay Laboratory (NVDAL) in Bogor, West Java province. During a visit to Bogor recently, Dr. Christine Heimburger (KfW`s Regional Director for East Asia and Pacific) attended a celebration of achievements with senior representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Government of Indonesia. "Avian Influenza is a dangerous livestock disease of poultry (and other birds) with regular emergence of highly pandemic strains of new variants of the virus and a serious threat of transmission to humans. Early warning surveillance and poultry vaccination programs, such as delivered by the upgraded biosafety laboratory in Bogor, help to reduce the risk for a pandemic in Asia, but also for a spread to Europe. That`s why this laboratory is an excellent example for a cooperation project in the mutual interest of both our countries", Dr. Heimburger stated during the celebration. During the coming weeks, the BSL 3 facility at the NVDAL will undergo final installation of equipment, testing and commissioning before being handed-over to the Ministry of Agriculture. It will then be a laboratory, which fulfills highest international standards. KfW is one of the world`s leading and most experienced promotional banks. Established in 1948 as a public law institution, KfW is owned 80 per cent by the Federal Republic of Germany and 20 per cent by the federal states (`Lnder`). KfW Development Bank is Germany`s leading development bank and an integral part of KfW. It carries out Germany's Financial Cooperation (FC) with developing countries on behalf of the Federal Government. The 600 personnel at headquarters and about 200 specialists across the 70 local offices cooperate with partners all over the world. Its goal is to combat poverty, secure the peace, protect the environment and the climate and make globalization fair. Germany's Financial Cooperation (FC) with Indonesia has a tradition of more than 50 years. The German Government made its first commitment in 1962. KfW Office Jakarta was opened in 1998.