Highly pathogenic avian influenza, ‘bird flu’, presents an unusual opportunity for international cooperation because millions of poor rural households can contribute significantly to the global commons of pandemic disease prevention. Their participation in this effort must be better understood and indeed rewarded if success is to be achieved.

Bird flu constitutes a serious threat to poor rural smallholder poultry producers, both directly through mortality, but probably even more so indirectly through the rigorous disease control measures applied by animal health authorities. The latter may deprive households of small but valuable amounts of protein in their diets, much needed petty cash income, and, most importantly, an investment opportunity for escaping poverty.

In rural areas of the countries in which PPLPI operates typically the vast majority of households, many of them living below the international poverty line, own chickens. If serious adverse impacts on these poultry keepers are to be avoided, it is essential to develop and implement control strategies that are adapted to initial conditions and local institutions. Because of diversity in the former (both between as well as within countries) and complexity of the latter, economy-wide prescriptions and ‘rules of thumb’ are unlikely to achieve anything close to optimum control strategies.

With the aim of contributing to evidence-based and equitable disease control strategies the Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative is promoting a systematic approach, referred to as Strategic Pathogen Assessment for Domesticated Animals (SPADA), that combines rigorous epidemiological and economic analysis with risk management, stakeholder consultation and policy influence. The approach is currently being developed and applied in the Mekong region with a focus on Vietnam, one of the most severely affected countries.