SWITZERLAND: Indonesia agrees to share bird flu samples
Updated
Indonesia has agreed to resume sharing bird flu virus samples to the World Health Organisation. The samples are considered vital in developing a vaccine to counter a potential bird flu pandemic. Health ministers and officials from 193 countries are gathered in Geneva for a World Health Organisation assembly - where Jakarta's position on bird flu dominated the opening proceedings. Jakarta's health minister Siti Fadilah Supari told the conference, Indonesia has now agreed to send some samples to the WHO.
Presenter: Rob Sharp
Speakers: Gregory Hartl, World Health Organisation Communications Adviser
HARTIL: Yeah, actually hope it's good news. On the sense of it yes it is. But we very much welcome this apparent move forward.
SHARP: What are the initial details, only that Indonesia has agreed now to share the samples?
HARTL: Yes, but we don't know how many samples. She didn't specify that and she also said that there would be an MTA, a Material Transfers Agreement involved in this.
SHARP: Certainly though, although the details are fairly sketchy at this stage. It's a positive sign I guess according to the WHO?
HARTL: Well yes, it's a positive sign. Now there's obviously the differences to whether these are the viruses of cases which have already occurred and or, whether she's going to agree to continue sending samples in the future. Both are important. So there are details still to be worked out.
SHARP: What were the main sticking points in the past, according to Indonesia? They've refused to share the samples now for five months?
HARTL: Yes, they've said basically that they don't feel that their getting the benefits of this system that they're feeding the viruses into, that they find that they give these viruses into the international system and then the vaccines that are produced using this system are too expensive for Indonesia to buy.
SHARP: Sure, so.
HARTL: Well, that's the argument that the minister have always used.
SHARP: So, they're saying that they're concerned that poorer countries won't be able to afford to buy the vaccines?
HARTL: Yes, yes.
SHARP: How important are Indonesian samples?
HARTL: Well, let me give you. I'm going to give you two answers to your one question, because may be you've got two questions in there actually.
Indonesian samples are very important because it's a big key to the puzzle. We know that there's been more deaths in Indonesia than in any other country and the other thing is that obviously Indonesia continues to have quite regular cases, which is not the case in most other countries, so the virus is still very active in Indonesia and we need to know what that virus is doing.
Countries have already indicated that they want to try to come to some sort of compromise. There are still, let's say two different positions on the table, but they've all agreed that they need an open ended drafting group to come to some kind of compromise agreement which should produce or we hope would produce a resolution by the end of the assembly on this issue.
