United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon today estimated that $1 billion is needed by the end of the year to help developing countries respond to pandemic influenza, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Speaking at a press conference in Geneva after a donor's conference, Moon said funding isn't coming in as expected. Margaret Chan, the WHO's director-general, said donor assistance is needed to help 49 developing countries stockpile antivirals and other drugs. [Jul 6 AP story]

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon today estimated that $1 billion is needed by the end of the year to help developing countries respond to pandemic influenza, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Speaking at a press conference in Geneva after a donor's conference, Moon said funding isn't coming in as expected. Margaret Chan, the WHO's director-general, said donor assistance is needed to help 49 developing countries stockpile antivirals and other drugs. [Jul 6 AP story]

Date: Sat 4 Jul 2009
Source: 660News, All News Radio, The Canadian Press [edited]

All cases of Tamiflu resistance are not created equal. So while the
1st 3 instances of swine flu infection with Tamiflu-resistant viruses
were reported in the past week, it was Number 3, not Number 1 that put
influenza experts on edge. Public health authorities in Hong Kong
announced Friday [3 Jul 2009] they have found a case of Tamiflu
resistance in a woman who hadn't taken the drug. That means she was
infected with swine flu viruses that were already resistant to

This blog is intended to kick off a discussion on how Resilience Networks could support the achievement of the Millenium Development Goals

which will probably progress over a sustained period of time. However I thought it worth starting the discussion.

The spanish language newspaper "La Nacion" has several articles detailing the current situation in Argentina. The situation may be a precursor of what the Northern Hemisphere may face in the Fall.

Argentina has declared a health emergency. This is the first natonal health emergency since 2002.

The paper reports less activity in major cities in Argentina has slowed. Less people in the streets, on the subways, at the malls, in restaurants, and many shops closed.

New Webcasts Now Available
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Learning to Live in a World with the H1N1 Pandemic
http://smtp01.kff.org/t/1045/427611/485/0/
June 30, 2009 Rayburn House Office Building

The CSIS Global Health Policy Center and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, in partnership with the Congressional Global Health Caucus, sponsored a briefing on the current H1N1 flu outbreak.

This is from CIDRAP; it’s an interview with one of the Flu Wiki crowdsourcers who was participating with the Friday meeting via webinar:

One family's experience

For Amy Bates Grant, preparing for a pandemic has been a process since 2006.

"I've learned everything that I could about pandemics," said the mother of two who lives outside Portland, Ore.

Grant said she used resources such as the Flu Wiki forum to learn how an influenza pandemic might affect her and her family, how to reduce exposure, and how she would cope if family members were infected.

http://www.developmentseed.org/blog/2009/jun/26/pandemic-preparedness-meeting-nih-community-resilience-live-streaming-today

On June 26th 2009 a dynamic synergy was established around the SO-H1N1 pandemic influenza at a Workshop hosted by the National Library of Medicine at the NIH near Washington DC.

Major steps were taken towards building a coalition of willing participants internal and external to government to better our nation’s planning and response efforts in support of the upcoming 2009 flu season.

By Lori Aratani
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Hospital emergency rooms and doctor's offices across the Washington region are reporting a higher-than-normal number of flu cases during a time of year when such infections are rare, a signal that the H1N1 virus continues to spread.