On 8 February 2006, the deadly strain of H5NI Avian Flu was officially confirmed on a commercial farm in Nigeria where 40,000 infected chickens died from the virus.
Getting this information to rural communities is a major challenge for government ministries and local government authorities. Six Information Networks (INs) set up under IICDs country programmes in Zambia, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Burkina Faso and Mali have found a way to help: by accessing vital information about Avian Flu via the Internet, translating it into local languages, and then repackaging it via information leaflets, radio programmes, and television announcements they can contribute to some of the existing avian flu preparedness programmes now in place. As a first step in this process, IICD has drafted a basic Avian Flu Online Information Resources document for use by all its INs and other local NGOs on the ground. If successful, it is hoped that this method could be used on a regular basis to disseminate information about public health issues at the grass root level in local languages.
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