Global Health

The Economist has the right angle on the recent bird flu scare in the UK. Yes, they say, go ahead and worry if it motivates the right sort of action to mitigate the hard-to-imagine impact of an avian influenza pandemic. But that action should include larger financing commitments, and start with intensive efforts in countries where the problem is real and immediate. As they write:Even today's small sums are paid out in the wrong place. Diseases emerge in Africa and Asia, where people mingle with animals day in, day out. That is where the monitoring and the research needs to go on. Cross-border co-operation is never easy, but if rich-world governments want to protect their citizens, the place to start is in a foreign field.

Sobering news from a recent Sa