Marwaan Macan-Markar

JAKARTA, Sep 25 2006 (IPS) – On a recent evening, Muhammad Farhan worked the crowd in an up-market café with the banter that has earned him fame as one of Indonesia s popular talk show hosts. A new book by a local author- In Bed with Models – set the tone for this off-the-air performance.
Hours later, his engaging style of delivery was on display for a wider audience at his regular late-night talk show, OM Farhan , broadcast on the StarAN TV network. I deal with topical issues, gossip about film stars, and even serious subjects, like the recent earthquake, the 36-year-old said over a meal at a restaurant in the Indonesian capital. I love to perform, do comedy sketches, talk and entertain.

More than entertainment this Jakarta resident lends his talent for public causes, raising awareness on the dangers of the killer bird flu virus that is stalking Indonesia. I am concerned because Indonesia has the highest number of human deaths due to avian influenza, explains Farhan, who has a round, clean-shaven face and short-cropped hair. I live in an area in west Jakarta considered one of the most risky. About nine people have died from bird flu there.

His new role comes across in the 30-second spots he has been appearing in that are broadcast on all nine national television stations in this country of 230 million people since the beginning of September. We are not focusing on scientific stuff, but simple, every day life, he says of the media campaign that will run till December. Through comedy and simple storylines, we get people to take more care, like proper cooking, keeping chickens outdoors and to getting to a doctor if you have flu.

This campaign, which is part of a broader awareness drive by the United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF), is aimed at Indonesia s poor and economically marginalised. The people in the lowest economic sector are most vulnerable, because they don t understand the bio-security issues and have still not become very serious about safe ways of breeding poultry, says Farhan, a father of two boys. When it rains, they bring theirs chickens indoors rather than keeping them in coops. They don t have money for that.

The lead taken by UNICEF is not surprising, given the large number of children who have been reported with the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus or who have died of bird flu in Indonesia. Less than half of the reported cases are children and young people under 18 years, John Budd, communications officer at UNICEF s Jakarta office, told IPS. Avian influenza is endemic in Indonesia. But it still remains a disease of animals.
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Indonesian public health authorities confirmed Friday that the latest victim of bird flu was an 11-year-old boy from Karanggentong, a heavily populated part of East Java. The boy, who had died on Monday, had fallen ill after coming into contact with infected chickens.

His death brought to 50 the number of human deaths from bird flu in Indonesia out of 65 reported cases. This South-east Asian archipelago became an area of concern after deaths due to H5N1 virus occurred in July 2005, when Indonesia reported its first bird flu fatality.

So far, 145 people have died due to bird flu out of the 247 cases reported globally, states the World Health Organisation (WHO). Vietnam follows Indonesia in human fatalities, with 42 bird flu-related deaths, after which comes Thailand, where 16 people have died. In China 14 deaths have occurred and in Cambodia, six.

Current numbers suggest the daunting task faced by Indonesia, which has an estimated flock of 1.8 billion poultry. The killer virus has been detected in poultry flocks in 29 of its 33 provinces, according to available reports.

The virus is still very dangerous, Chairul Nidom, a veterinarian and researcher at the tropical disease centre at the Airlangga University in Surabaya, said in an interview. It spreads easily in Indonesia because of poultry trading. We also have a problem with the wet markets and some big poultry companies based in Java.

The structure of the virus found in Java is the same as what is found in outer Java, he added. There is no difference between the capital and the villages. The situation is the same.

International concern about Indonesia emerging as the epicentre for bird flu this year displacing Thailand and Vietnam after the current outbreak began in the winter of 2003 was reflected in the comments made on Wednesday by David Nabarro, the U.N. special envoy for avian influenza. There s a lot more that needs to be done to get good quality animal health services in all 444 districts in this country, he told The Jakarta Post in an interview. It is vital that veterinary personnel in each district look out for bird flu cases and respond to them. That means the efficient killing of affected birds and those around them.

Farhan understands this concern. We don t want people to reduce chicken consumption, but to change their behaviour when dealing with poultry, he said. The campaign is about leading a healthy lifestyle and for each person to do his bit, even as simple as keeping hands clean, to avoid getting infected.

When you are involved in this campaign you want to make a difference, he adds. I have begun to include bird flu issues in my regular talk shows to spread the message.