MARCH 8 NIGERIA AVIAN FLU UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000552 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR OES NANCY POWELL USDA FOR FAS/OA, FAS/DLP, FAS/ICD AND FAS/ITP USDA ALSO FOR APHIS USAID REGIONAL HUB OFFICE ACCRA CHERYL FRENCH APHIS DAKAR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO KFLU EAID AMED EAGR NI SUBJECT: MARCH 8 NIGERIA AVIAN FLU UPDATE REF: ABUJA 536 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. The HN51 virus is now confirmed as present in 11 Nigerian states, including Anambra and Rivers States in the south. An outbreak of AI was reported March 8 in three locations within the Federal Capital Territory. Jigawa State also is very likely to have AI, as do all of its neighbors. GON officials' absence from Abuja and their offices has affected the government's ability to respond to AI, including holding coordination sessions. End summary. ¶2. (U) The UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) reported March 7 that Nigeria now had 11 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),affected by the H5N1 virus. These states are Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau, Katsina, Yobe, Nasarawa, the FCT; and Rivers, Benue, and Anambra. Tests by the FAO's Rome laboratory confirmed N5N1 in the first seven states and the FCT. The Government of Nigeria (GON) announced on March 6 that H5N1 had spread to Idemili (Anambra State),Oturpo (Benue State),and Port Harcourt (Rivers State),confirmed by the Vom National Veterinary Research Institute, near Jos. GON reaction in Rivers, Benue, and Anambra States -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) The UN Development Program (UNDP) reported March 7 that the Ministry of Health had sent teams to Rivers, Benue, and Anambra States to train officials there in surveillance and disinfecting operations. Nigeria's Avian Flu Crisis Management Center announced that culling of infected birds and the decontamination of affected areas in the three states was being carried out with the cooperation of the states' officials. ¶4. (U) Abuja radio reported March 8 that an AI outbreak was confirmed in three locations within the FCT. The affected farms are located at the Apo Legislative Quarters, and within the Bwari and Kuje Area Councils. The previous outbreak in the FCT was in wild birds. Although not confirmed, AI is almost certainly also in Jigawa State in the far north. All of Jigawa's state neighbors, and Niger to its north, have confirmed cases of AI. Poultry die-offs have been reported in and samples taken for testing from Jigawa, Borno, Adamwara, and Sokoto States in the north and from Ogun, Delta, and Abia States in the south. Nigeria's system for testing animal samples for AI still has a substantial backlog of cases. After promises, compensation for birds begins -------------- ¶5. (U) The GON launched on March 6 in Kano State its compensation program for poultry farmers. The government paid a total of 23.5 million naira (roughly USD 182,000) to 47 farmers in Kano. According to press reports, some Kano poultry farmers complained that the government's compensation plan covered only birds that were culled, not those that died of AI, and that the level of compensation -- about USD 2 per bird -- was insufficient. Nigeria's ministers of agriculture and information traveled to Kano for the compensation ceremony. Further from international donors -------------- ¶6. (U) UNDP held a March 7 UNDP donor meeting in Abuja. A World Health Organization official said the GON had created a committee that "probably" would begin work this week on whether the government favored bird vaccinations, and that this committee should make a recommendation by March 17. The UN Children's Fund said the GON had approved a communications strategy and that the government hopes to distribute AI educational materials in time to be passed out by workers participating in the March 11-12 national immunization day. A CDC official said Kano State officials ABUJA 00000552 002 OF 002 had improved their cooperation in combating AI. A DFID official said the UK Government had distributed 15,000 sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) and that the United Kingdom had contributed separately just under USD 1 million in AI assistance. The FAO announced that 12,000 Israeli- provided PPEs and other supplies given by Israel arrived in Nigeria on March 7. Poultry association organizes to pursue compensation -------------- -------------- ¶7. (U) The agricultural attache met March 6 with the president of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN). The PAN is urging all Nigerian poultry producers to register with it and provide information on their operations, including production and market segment, such as their numbers of layers and broilers. The PAN would provide this information to the GON vis-a-vis compensation plans and other support programs. The government recently announced a new financing program to encourage agricultural production and will provide a subsidy of 6% to commercial bank loans taken out by agricultural producers. Some large poultry farmers were looking to this program to restock their farms once they get the green light from the government to do so. Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Nigeria's agriculture minister and its chief veterinary officer visited Niger on the weekend of March 4-5 to express solidarity with Niger's own struggle against AI, according to the agricultural attache. This visit, however, took these senior officials out of Abuja at a time when Nigeria was far from having its own AI outbreak under control. On March 8, for the fifth time in five weekdays, the GON's coordination meeting at the Avian Influenza Crisis Management Center began very late or was canceled. This time, the meeting was not held because senior GON AI officials were "involved with" training. ¶9. (SBU) The UNDP in Nigeria and donor agencies decided on March 7 to reduce their twice-weekly meetings to one per week. This follows the GON's decision on March 6 to reduce its daily AI coordination meeting to three times per week. While GON AI officials recently have appeared at high- profile events to reassure the Nigerian people, it has highlighted the thinness of the team managing the crisis. When senior officials are in the field, there is no one with the knowledge or authority to handle coordination meetings in Abuja or the government's day-to-day AI operations and decision-making processes. While the GON is making progress in some sectors in combating AI, it is losing momentum in others. CAMPBELL