The two-day-pledging conference on Avian Influenza has drawn to a close in Beijing.

Representatives from more than 100 countries and regions and 20 international organizations have joined together to raise money for the combat against bird flu, with about 1.9 billion US dollars pledged to support actions tackling the cross-border threat at country, regional and global levels.

Yixiu has the report.

Reporter:

Donors at the international bird flu conference in Beijing have pledged 1.9 billion US dollars to fight the avian and human influenza and prepare for a possible pandemic.

The amount of funds has covered the estimated overall financing gap of 1.2 billion US dollars for the next 2 to 3 years, as well as for supportive regional and global action.

The European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Safety Marko Kyprianou announced the total amount pledged by the international community.

The major donors are from European Commission, the World Bank, the United States and Japan. The World Bank has provided a 500 million dollar loan. The European Commission together with its member countries have altogether contributed 250 million dollars for multi-country and unrestricted use.

The conference has listed six countries which have been infected or been at high risk for the avian influenza pandemic, most of which are southeast Asian countries and Africa.

Priority will be given to those countries in allocating the funds.

Umar Fahmi, from the ministry of communicable disease and environmental health of Indonesia, says his country will spend a large amount of the money in raising the public's awareness in preventing bird flu.

The World Bank says a trust fund facility is to be established under its administration for coordinating finance. Countries must demonstrate an integrated national action plan to receive the pledged funds.

The World Bank hopes the fund will be prioritized in the containing of the H5N1 virus at the animal infection level.

David Nabarro, as Senior United Nations System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza, outlined the primary use.

China, as one of the recipient countries, has donated 10 million US Dollars to support the global fight.

The Beijing Declaration was released as the conference's conclusion, addressing the countries' commitment to fighting the disease and the emergency measures to enhance global financial coordination.