Many countries poorly prepared for pandemic

Africa is "far from ready" for a pandemic of H1N1 flu, and developing countries in Asia and Latin America will need help in accessing life-saving drugs and vaccines, top health officials have said.

Addressing the World Health Organization's annual congress, Tonga's health minister said it was lucky the H1N1 strain had spread first to affluent countries, such as the United States, Canada, Spain, Britain and Japan.

Poor countries lack the medical staff, laboratories, drug stockpiles and vaccine-making capacity to deal with the outbreak in a sophisticated manner, said Viliami Tangi.