The World Health Organization, WHO, says it is starting a special fund to combat SARS, primarily in mainland China and Hong Kong

World Health Organization officials say they are confident they will be able to raise the money by September from investment banks, media companies and industrial groups. The head of WHO's Communicable Diseases Program, David Heymann, calls this an exciting new endeavor. He says the Geneva-based World Economic Forum which has close ties with China is taking the lead in contacting business people to contribute to the fund. Hong Kong still has not managed to get the SARS epidemic under control. But, the World Health Organization says health authorities there are doing a good job in identifying new cases of this fatal disease, in tracing people who have come in contact with SARS carriers and in isolating patients. It says Hong Kong is making good progress and is moving closer toward containing the disease. China remains the most severely SARS-affected country in the world. But, WHO SARS expert, Jim Kim says he is convinced that the Chinese authorities are taking the epidemic seriously.