By IANS
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday urged governments across the world to “act locally but think globally” in dealing with the scourge of avian flu, even as he cautioned against “institutional fatigue” in dealing with such pandemics.
“Avian influenza, like all pandemics, is today a global threat and we must all work together to find a global solution. Each of our governments will have to act locally, but think globally in dealing with this massive problem,” the prime minister said while addressing the International Ministerial Conference on avian and pandemic influenza here.
Noting that “eternal vigilance” was required to ensure the good health “both of our people and of our economies”, Manmohan Singh said: “We should guard against institutional fatigue in dealing with such pandemics and never lower our guard.”
India, the prime minister said, recognised the need for a “long-term vision” to control and eliminate avian influenza.
“But we do also see the necessity of taking urgent action now and in the present. Through our roadmap 2008, we endeavour to suggest action points, which are deliverable and achievable in the next one year. India commits itself to adhere to the roadmap. We hope that you will find it a useful reference for your own future programmes,” Manmohan Singh added.
In this context, he said India was pleased to host the conference “not only because we are home to a sizeable poultry business, but also because we have a creditable track record in research on and the management of avian flu”.
“Therefore, we believe we have more than just our hospitality to offer our esteemed guests from distant lands,” he added.
“India is committed to share the experience of control and containment of the outbreak in poultry. The ability and capacity of India’s pharmaceutical industry is recognized the world over,” Manmohan Singh said, even as he pointed out that Indian companies were producing Oseltamivir, the recommended drug for countering avian influenza.
Stating that avian flu had caused huge economic losses and threatened the livelihood of millions and millions of people, Manmohan Singh added: “The best available strategy is to control it at the level of the animal. Any let-up of our pursuit to stop this disease at the first frontier – the animal – could be catastrophic in consequences for human beings.
“We do not yet know the future behaviour of a mutated influenza virus that impacts human beings. But we do know that once human-to-human transmission is established there would be a very short time lag before it spreads and impacts every part of the globe. The window of opportunity to take action is, therefore, here and now.”
According to Manmohan Singh, each outbreak of a pandemic “has also taught us a few lessons” and there was need to “pool this experience and work together”.
“The world community has exhibited considerable maturity and concern by frequently reviewing and assessing the global situation in such conferences. The experience of developed countries may not always be relevant for developing countries, especially if the capabilities are very different.
“Hence, we need to be sensitive to national capabilities and capacities and build these where necessary through international collective efforts,” the prime minister added.