6 now dead as US$1.9b pledged to fight bird flu

One hundred and twenty countries pledged a total of US$1.9 billion to fight bird flu at a two-day Beijing meeting as news surfaced that a 35-year-old woman from Sichuan had last week become China’s sixth human fatality, the South China Morning Post reported. European Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said US$1 billion will be in the form of grants, with a large proportion going to poor countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, and the remaining US$900 million made available as loans. China will contribute US$10 million to the fund.