Organizers of a donor conference in Beijing Wednesday are urging nations to pledge more money to a fund to combat bird flu worldwide.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a recorded message Wednesday telling this donors' conference in Beijing that investing in preparations to combat H5N1 bird flu now will save lives and money in the long term.
China and the World Bank are among those co-hosting the conference, aiming to raise more than a billion dollars to ward off a human pandemic. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says the world's rich nations are key.
Premier Wen says developed countries and international organizations should play a larger role in fund-raising.
Four fatalities in Turkey this month were the first to occur outside of East Asia, bringing the death toll to more than 80 since 2003.
