JUNE 9 NIGERIA AVIAN FLU UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001429 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS USDA FOR FAS/OA, FAS/DLP, FAS/ICD AND FAS/ITP USDA FOR APHIS USDA FOR WAYNE MOLSTAD/OSEC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO KFLU EAID AMED EAGR NI AVIANFLU SUBJECT: JUNE 9 NIGERIA AVIAN FLU UPDATE REF: ABUJA 1412 ABUJA 00001429 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. The June 7 meeting of the AI Technical Committee featured considerable bitterness, as the Ministry of Agriculture accused the Ministry of Health of telling "lies" about AI's spread in Kano State. The National Veterinary Research Institute confirmed three new instances of AI in Plateau State. The GON paid 12 million naira (about $94,000) in compensation, divided between 50 affected poultry farmers in Kaduna State. An FAO official reported that Kano State veterinarians continue to suffer a "significant" shortage of transportation. Elsewhere, a World Bank official criticized Nigeria's continuing failure to draw on any Bank funds. A European Union official observed that Nigeria's political will probably was lacking and criticized the government's "unjustified complacency" against the virus. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) The June 7 meeting of the Government of Nigeria (GON) Avian Influenza (AI) Technical Committee, which lasted nearly three hours, was extremely contentious and featured considerable bitterness between the Ministries of Health (MOH) and Agriculture (MOA),though the MOH was barely represented. The chief veterinary officer (CVO),who was the meeting's chair, accused the MOH of telling "lies" about AI's spread in Kano State and noted his prior intent to fire the person who caused this "trauma." The CVO sought, inconclusively, to dissolve a subcommittee created recently to address, among other things, recurring AI in Kano State and the reported incorrect disposal of dead poultry. The CVO said the GON should instead reexamine its national AI emergency-preparedness plan. A UN Food and Agriculture Office (FAO) official, who is Nigerian, called for the government to exercise tighter control over AI-related information. (Comment: It is not clear whether the FAO official sought tighter control over AI information to increase reports' accuracy or to prevent embarrassing disclosures, or a combination of these. End comment.) ¶3. (SBU) An FAO official said in the recent AI outbreak in Kano State, the affected farmer was not required to pay for AI laboratory testing, but did have to pay for laborers to bury dead or culled birds. An MOA official said his ministry intended for farmers to provide the labor or funds to dig the pits in which birds will be buried, after first being burned to prevent people from eating them. States would pay the cost of the labor if farmers could not afford this. An MOH official said the Ministries of Finance and Justice still must issue legal opinions on World Bank AI funding, some of which the Bank approved as far back as March 20. The CVO did not know that some of these funds already were available to Nigeria. Three outbreaks of AI confirmed in Plateau State -------------- --- ¶4. (U) The National Veterinary Research Institute at Vom confirmed three new instances of AI in Plateau State: in Jos South in a flock of 480 birds, and two in Jos South in flocks of 650 and 1,600 birds, respectively. The Plateau State veterinary service culled the three flocks and decontaminated the farms. During the week of May 29, the GON paid 12 million naira (about $94,000) in compensation, divided between 50 affected poultry farmers in Kaduna State, for previous rather than recent outbreaks of AI. ¶5. (SBU) An FAO official who visited Kano last week reported on June 6 that Kano State veterinarians continued to suffer a "significant" shortage of transportation. Owners of some previously infected farms in the state were stocking their farms without permission, but some of these owners were implementing improved biosecurity practices. The federal government might need to subsidize the cost of chicken feed because of the economic strain on owners who restock, then must wait for their chicks to mature. ¶6. (SBU) At the June 6 AI international donors meeting in Abuja, a World Bank official criticized Nigeria's continuing failure to draw on any Bank funds. A European Union ABUJA 00001429 002.2 OF 002 official said sufficient money already was available to Nigeria to combat AI. He observed that Nigeria's political will probably was lacking and criticized the government's "unjustified complacency" against the virus. ANYASO