Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ABUJA558
2006-03-10 06:06:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Abuja
Cable title:  

MARCH 9 NIGERIA AVIAN FLU UPDATE

Tags:  TBIO KFLU EAID AMED EAGR NI 
pdf how-to read a cable
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OO RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #0558/01 0690606
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 100606Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4846
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
RHFMISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHRO/US MISSION UN ROME 0060
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC//USDP/ASD-HD//
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000558 

SIPDIS

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

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (TEXT - PARAGRAPH MARKINGS 2 -6)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO KFLU EAID AMED EAGR NI
SUBJECT: MARCH 9 NIGERIA AVIAN FLU UPDATE

REF: ABUJA 552

ABUJA 00000558 001.2 OF 002


///////CORRECTED COPY (PARAGRAPHS 2 THROUGH 6 NOT MARKED)/////

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000558

SIPDIS

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

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (TEXT - PARAGRAPH MARKINGS 2 -6)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO KFLU EAID AMED EAGR NI
SUBJECT: MARCH 9 NIGERIA AVIAN FLU UPDATE

REF: ABUJA 552

ABUJA 00000558 001.2 OF 002


///////CORRECTED COPY (PARAGRAPHS 2 THROUGH 6 NOT MARKED)/////


1. (SBU) Summary. The GON announced March 9 that an
additional state, Ogun State, was confirmed positive for the
H5 virus. This result was confirmed by the Vom National
Veterinary Research Institute, near Jos. Officials said the
government had paid no additional compensation to poultry
farmers since 47 farmers in Kano State received money on
March 6. Poultry sales in Nigeria have plummeted 85 percent
since AI was detected one month ago. The poultry
association said this decline in chicken sales has cost
Nigerian poultry farmers about USD 233 million so far. The
poultry association warned that unless the government
offered longer-term assistance to farmers for restocking
their farms, Nigeria's poultry sector risked a complete
collapse. End summary.


2. (SBU) Centers for Disease Control officials attended on March 9
in Abuja the Government of Nigeria's (GON) Steering
Committee meeting on avian influenza (AI). GON officials
announced that an additional state, Ogun State, was
confirmed positive for having the H5 virus. This result was
confirmed by the Vom National Veterinary Research Institute,
near Jos. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
laboratory in Rome is testing additional samples from Ogun
State. Ogun State is the center of commercial poultry
production in Nigeria. GON officials said there are highly
suspicious and very large die-offs of birds in Niger and
Adamawa States. They ordered technical staff to investigate
these bird deaths and confirm or deny AI as the cause.


3. (SBU) GON officials said the government had paid no additional
compensation to poultry farmers since 47 farmers in Kano
State received money on March 6. Officials said the World
Bank signed on March 8 an accord that will provide almost
USD 60 million to combat AI. Of this total, USD 30.7

million will go toward animal health, USD 21.3 million to
human health, USD 4.05 million to social mobilization, and
USD 2.83 million for contingency purposes. GON officials
noted that state ministers of information met in Abuja on
March 9 to be "sensitized" on the issue of AI.

International donors help address some needs
--------------


4. (SBU) At a March 7 UN Development Program (UNDP) donors meeting
in Abuja, a USAID official noted that USAID is working with
the GON to implement a program for eradication in outbreak
areas where culling is needed. USAID is providing
assistance in the provision of commodities to assist in the
isolation and control, culling, decontamination, and proper
disposal of culled birds. In collaboration with the French
Embassy and PACE, the Pan-African Control of Epizootics, an
EU-funded organization embedded in the Ministry of
Agriculture (MOA),USAID is sponsoring technical training
for MOA animal-health technicians, International Fund for
Agricultural Development staff, and the FAO in
identification, containment, culling, decontamination, and
disposal techniques. This training will be held in Ibadan
for southern Nigerian staff and in Minna for their northern
Nigerian counterparts.


5. (SBU) The UNDP reported that the World Bank has approved the
reallocation of USD 3 million in existing funds to combat AI
through state-level health programs. The UNDP summarized
its initial matrix of AI contributions and concluded:
Donations for the Ministry of Health's short-term needs (to
December 2006) are well covered for surveillance and
outbreak investigations. There are still, however, gaps in
funding for case management (Tamiflu),prevention (flu
vaccine),data management, vehicles, and laboratory support.
The MOA's initial needs, meanwhile, have received very
little commitment or input apart from World Bank funds.

Poultry sales plummet 85% in one month
--------------

ABUJA 00000558 002.2 OF 002




6. (SBU) Poultry sales in the country have plummeted 85 percent
since AI was detected one month ago in Nigeria, the
president of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) told
Reuters on March 8. PAN chief Olatunde Badmus said this
figure was based on a survey of the association's members.
He said Nigerian poultry farms were going out of business
rapidly, and that farmers were destroying eggs as well as
chickens that were not diseased because they could not sell
these. The PAN estimated that this decline in chicken sales
has cost Nigeria's poultry farmers at least 30 billion naira
(about USD 233 million) so far. Badmus additionally
cautioned that while poultry farmers welcomed the
government's initial payment of compensation on March 6,
this money was not sufficient to persuade affected farmers
to reenter the poultry business. He warned that unless the
government offered longer-term assistance to farmers for
restocking their farms, Nigeria's poultry sector risked a
complete collapse.
CAMPBELL