Bird flu conference raises $1.9bn

Beijing: A donors conference being held in China has raised around $1.9 billion towards the fight against bird flu.

The conference in Beijing received donations and pledges from countries and organizations including the United States, European Union and the World Bank.

the United States has pledged $334 million to the fund, while the European Union gave  nearly $250 million.

The World Bank, which had hoped to raise at least $1.2billion from the conference, has also approved a $500 million credit line.