1. (C) According to Djibouti's Minister of Health, Dr.
Mohammed Ali Kamil, most recent studies indicate that the
rate of HIV/AIDS infection in Djibouti is about 3 percent.
During the Ambassador's courtesy call on him, the Minister
said this rate indicates that Djibouti is in a state of
"generalized infection," which needs to be controlled before
it becomes too late. The small size of the country, he
added, could make the fight against HIV/AIDS very efficient,
in actuality, if donor assistance in the campaign against
HIV/AIDS is made available.



2. (C) Kamil said assistance from donors should focus first
on regional disease-prevention programs since most of the
patients with infectious diseases are foreigners from Somalia
or Ethiopia (75 per cent in the districts and 50 per cent in
Djibouti city). Indeed, he continued, most of the 4,000
tuberculosis cases in Djibouti are Ethiopians. They are
depleting Djiboutian resources, he claimed. Kamil noted
World Bank funding of a program aimed at reducing infectious
diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria generally in
Djibouti. "This is the most important area of support
Djibouti requires," he said.



3. (U) The Minister also said UNICEF assists the Ministry of
Health in the areas of vaccinations, mother-child health
care, and mother-child HIV/AIDS transmission, with a total
budget of USD 681,000 for 2004. The World Health
Organization contributed USD 500,000 of this amount, he said.




4. (U) In this regard, Kamil told Ambassador that Djibouti
wishes to be eligible for President Bush's Global AIDS
Initiative. He expressed the view that his Ministry and
Djibouti's health sector had completed a number of reforms
that would support eligibility. It is the only country in the
region with comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment
capabilities. Moreover, Djibouti has designated seven
centers for HIV/AIDS treatment and has appointed an HIV/AIDS
Coordination Committee comprised of 11 ministries.



5. (U) Comment: Current USAID programming in Djibouti
already includes an additional focus on prevention of
infectious diseases including tuberculosis, malaria and
HIV/AIDS. Its total obligation through a Strategic Objective
Grant Agreement for Health with the Government of the
Republic of Djibouti is USD 12 million. End comment.
RAGSDALE