As the virus begins to establish itself in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, a UN report was leaked that says that unless rich countries step up to pay for vaccines and antiviral medicines, the swine flu could kill millions and cause anarchy in the world’s poorest nations.

The announcement comes as officials inside the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN's public health body, said they feared they would not be able to raise half the amount needed because of the global downturn.

Gregory Hartl of WHO said the report required an urgent response from rich nations. "There needs to be recognition that the whole world is affected by this pandemic and the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We have seen how H1N1 has taken hold in richer nations and in the southern hemisphere. We have been given fair warning and must act soon," he said.

The report says:

"Countries where health services are overburdened by diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, will have great difficulty managing the surge of cases. And if the electricity and water sectors are not able to maintain services, this will have serious implications for the ability of the health sector to function.

"If suppliers of fuel, food, telecommunications, finance or transport services have not developed plans as to how they would continue to deliver their services, the consequences could be significantly intensified."

In short, the 47 page report:

• Provides a detailed breakdown of the basic needs of 75 vulnerable countries with the weakest capacity to withstand an escalation of the virus.
• Included in the survey are six countries from Latin America, including Cuba and Bolivia, 21 countries from Asia and the Pacific such as North Korea and Bangladesh, and 40 countries from Africa such as Congo and Eritrea.
• Says part of the money should be spent on antiviral drugs and vaccines to protect health care workers and other essential personnel as well as cover those suffering from severe illness.
• Identifies 85 countries that do not have the ability to access vaccines from any other source and intend to cover 5-10% of each population.

Last week, nine countries including Britain and the US pledged to give the equivalent of a 10% share of their swine flu vaccine supply to help fight the deadly virus's global spread.

Swine flu was declared a pandemic in June and has since been identified in 180 countries. Pandemic experts believe that the western world, including Britain, is facing a second wave of the virus.

What do you think? Should the U.S. allot funds to help poor nations pay for H1N1 vaccines and antiviral meds?