This brief is a synopsis of five country background papers that provided an inventory of information about the importance of the poultry sector in the economy and for rural livelihoods, the structure of the poultry sector and the associated level

The emergence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) of the subtype H5N1 and the potential threat of a global human pandemic have been issues of great concern to the international community since its regional and global spread since 2003.