Azerbaijan Makes Great Strides in Avian Flu Prevention
“Azerbaijan has made remarkable progress in preventing outbreaks of avian influenza over the past six months,” stated Dr. Victor Gasimov, Ministry of Health Chief of Sanitary and Epidemiological Sector.
Dr. Gasimov spoke at the Ministry of Health’s first avian influenza (AI) conference, held in December 2006 with the USAID Primary Health Care (PHC) Project, which is led by consortium of American organizations led by International Medical Corps.
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| Scott Taylor (left), USAID Country Coordinator for Azerbaijan presents a certificate of appreciation to Dr. Faig Mamedzadeh, Deputy Director of the Republican Anti-Plague Station of Azerbaijan |
Participants at the conference reviewed AI program accomplishments, as well as recommendations for improving surveillance and communication in Azerbaijan. Government officials expressed readiness and willingness to replicate these recommendations throughout the country.
“The main purpose for holding a national conference was to ensure that sustainable support for current accomplishments will be provided by the government to prevent avian influenza,” said AI Program Manager Dr. Azer Melikov. “The fact that conference was convened by Azerbaijani government is already a success. The government’s readiness to continue the PHC Project’s AI program is considered the greatest achievement of our program.”
Conference attendees included representatives from the government, academic, business, humanitarian and media sectors. Speakers included Dr. Faig Mamedzadeh, Deputy Director of Anti-Plague Station; Dr. Hashim Hashimov, Key Specialist at the Epidemiologic Department at the Ministry of Health; Tamilla Nagiyeva, ARGO PR Agency Director; Dr. Carol Underwood, Senior Advisor for PHC Project; and Rizvan Aliyev, a representative of the Doctors Advancement Institute.
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