Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Visiting US Health and Human Service Minister Michael O Leavitt and his Indonesian counterpart Siti Fadilah Supari met at the presidential office here on Monday to discuss the continuation of bilateral cooperation in bird flu management.
"We meet to follow up on talks on bird flu management that we held in Geneva ten days ago," Siti Fadilah Supari said after the meeting.
She said the follow-up talks with the US health and human services minister were held to find a solution to the Materal Transfer Agreement (MTA) on the shipment of bird flu virus samples to the United States.
According to the Indonesian health affairs minister, almost all of Indonesia`s proposals on MTA were approved at the Geneva meeting although their formats were simplified.
The minister said developing countries including Indonesia wanted MTA to ensure transparency in the use of bird flu virus specimens, transfer of technology to produce bird flu vaccine, and equality in the right to access vaccines.
US Health and Human Service Minister Michael Leavitt was on a two-day visit in Indonesia starting Monday (April 14) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in health affairs, a US Embassy Embassy staffer Kresna Soegio said.
He said there was close cooperation between Indonesia and the United States in health affairs, especially in bird flu management.
According to US Embassy data, the US was through the USAID implementing a program to support Indonesia`s national strategy to control and promote preparedness to deal with the bird flu pandemic for the 2006-2008 period. The strategy provides for enlightenment campaigns for the public and private sectors in every sub district in Java, Bali, West Sumatra and Lampung.
Since 2005, the United States had provided Indonesia with US$42.85 million to fund bird flu control and prevention programs.
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