Canada pledges aid for disease monitoring at World Cup
|
| Published on Saturday, March 10, 2007 |
Email To Friend Print Version |
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP): Canada pledged 900,000 dollars (760,000 US) Friday to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to the improve its disease surveillance during the upcoming Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean.
"Our assistance in making the Cricket World Cup a safe and secure event is a measure of our support to both the host countries and the many thousands of visitors who will attend the games," Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said.
The enhanced disease surveillance activities will improve regional bioterrorism preparedness, and funding is being provided through his department's Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Program, McKay said.
It will provide for laboratory supplies, training in seaport health and cruise ship management, start-up investigation kits and other items.
The Caribbean Epidemiologic Centre (CAREC), which is working with PAHO, requested the assistance "to deal with threats to health security from bioterrorism or pandemics that could arise during the event."
The Cricket World Cup kicks off on Sunday in Barbados and continues until April 28 in several Caribbean nations.
It is one of the worlds largest and most viewed sporting events, with some 100,000 people expected to attend. | | | | Reads : 288 | | | |
|
|
