| John D. Rockefeller 3RD Scholars Program - Announcement |
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Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Avian Influenza Prevention and Control:
The Case of Village Poultry Farming in Myanmar
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Burma has had three Avian Influenza (AI) outbreaks to date, and lacks proper monitoring and
communications infrastructure to prevent disease spread. Attracted by the JDR 3rd Scholars
Program's model of intensive mentoring and focus on providing results directly to policy makers,
the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is co-funding a one-year research team on the
socio-economic impacts of AI on rural poultry farmers in Burma. During the first phase of the
grant competition eleven planning grant applications were submitted, indicating that local
researchers are eager for this kind of opportunity.
The grant competition judging committee included three Yangon-based judges, representing the
Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, the Central Statistics Organization, and FAO Myanmar.
Winrock facilitated the inclusion of a fourth judge, Mr. Dinh Xuan Tung, a Vietnamese AI expert
who coordinates Canadian-funded avian influenza research in five Southeast Asian countries. Mr.
Tung was able to update the judging committee on similar research activities in neighboring countries.
The judging committee met in September 2007 to select three planning grant winners, and again on
November 11 to select one winning proposal.
Dr. (Ms.) Ai Thandar Kyaw, Assistant Veterinary Officer at the Yangon City Development Committee,
is the lead researcher of the winning team. The team includes four principal researchers (of
which three are women), two research assistants and three senior advisors representing academia,
private poultry companies and three key government agencies: the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries,
the Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Statistics Organization. This multi-sectoral participation
should ensure that the team has access to critical data, field sites, and policy makers who can act
on their final recommendations.
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