AVIAN FLU: WORLD ANIMAL HEALTH ORGANIZATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001220

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION UNESCO

STATE FOR IO/EDA SHARON KOTOK, IO/T AMY BRIDGMAN
IO/UNESCO KEVIN PILZ, OES HAROLD FOSTER, BARRIE RIPIN,
OES/STAS ANDREW W. REYNOLDS, OES/IHA JOHN S. BLODGETT,
OES SUSAN POVENMIRE, G JOAQUIN FERRAO, G JEFFREY MIOTKE
STATE FOR NSC GENE WHITNEY
STATE FOR NSF INTERNATIONAL OFFICE
STATE FOR USDA PETER FERNANDEZ, RON DEHAVEN, AND
MICHAEL J. DAVID
STATE FOR USAID DENNIS CARROLL


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO KSCA
SUBJECT: AVIAN FLU: WORLD ANIMAL HEALTH ORGANIZATION
(OIE) on PUBLIC OUTREACH EFFORTS

REF: A. Paris 217


1. On February 22, Senior OES Public Affairs Advisor
Susan Povenmire met with Maria Zampaglione, Director of
Communications of the World Organization for Animal
Health (OIE),to discuss how the USG and the OIE might
collaborate on avian flu public outreach efforts. US
Mission for UNESCO Science officer and PA Officer also
attended the meeting.

OIE PUTS THE ACCENT ON OUTREACH.


2. Zampaglione explained to Povenmire that OIE
Director General Bernard Vallat has, since assuming his
duties, taken a much more pro-active approach to public
outreach than is normally the case for leaders of
technical organizations; ten years at the French
agriculture ministry during the BSE crisis had
convinced him of the necessity of scientists
communicating with the general public. His work over
the past five years to establish a "communication
mentality" set the groundwork for the OIE's ability to
cope with the intense media interest fueled by the
current avian virus epidemic.

...AND ON IMPROVED COOPERATION WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS


3. Queried on the current division of responsibilities
with other international organizations - including the
WHO and the FAO - Zampaglione said that the OIE has
taken a leading role in a committee on public outreach
that includes many international organizations and
stakeholders. This committee constituted a big step
forward, as initial messages to the public from
different agencies were discordant at the beginning.
Daily contacts among concerned officers at
participating organizations have helped. The positions
of the WHO and FAO are now much clearer. The committee
includes sub-groups on: risk reduction, media, behavior
change, and containment. Research on existing
educational material -- and possible gaps -- is key.
The sub-group on risk reduction, for example, includes
representatives of the OIE, FAO, WHO, the poultry
sector, private industry, veterinary services, medical
officers, and representatives of member states.


4. Queried on the division of labor between
international organizations on implementation efforts,
Zampaglione explained that the FAO deals with
agricultural support for developing countries; it has a
small unit dedicated to animal health. According to an
agreement worked out at Beijing, the OIE deals with
governance issues relating to animal health on the
global and regional level, while the FAO is active at
the national level. The strength of the OIE is in
veterinary infrastructure and services. A major
concern is that countries that do not have strong
veterinary services will not be able to achieve early
detection and response. For example, Nigerian
authorities notified the OIE of the presence of the
avian influenza virus on February 8, but the virus had
first been detected January 9 -- OIE Director Vallat
had stressed the importance of strong veterinary
infrastructure and early notification as early as
December 2004, Zampaglione noted.
The FAO and the OIE carried out a joint mission to
Nigeria.
Joint OIE/FAO reference labs investigate the
pathogenesis and epidemiology of avian influenza
viruses.


5. Regarding cooperation with NGOs, the OIE maintains
strong working relationships with many, including
Veterinarians without Borders, even in the field. But
the OIE does not do public outreach in conjunction with
NGOs, because it would be difficult to select among the
many eager NGO partners.

USG EAGER FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

6. Povenmire stressed USG eagerness to improve lines
of communication with international organizations with
a key role on this issue. She briefed Zampaglione on
the international partnership on avian influenza,
bringing together 88 countries at the ministerial level
to leverage resources and share information and
expertise; the next meeting will take place this
spring, possibly in Europe. Povenmire also briefed
Zampaglione on an upcoming March Conference in Atlanta
that will bring together public health professionals to
discuss surveillance, epidemiology, research,
communication and training, as well as prevention and
control; CDC is taking the lead.


7. Povenmire stressed that the USG interagency working
group on avian influenza hopes to draw on existing
material in its outreach work. On possible OIE-USG
cooperation on public outreach, Povenmire evoked
sharing of information sheets, and coordination of the
translation of written materials. Zampaglione
confessed that the OIE website, while complete, was not
aimed at a general audience, but at policymakers and
specialists; the site needs some work in that regard.
The FAO site addresses more basic questions.


8. Zampaglione and Povenmire agreed that an important
point to convey to the public is that avian influenza
has not spread widely among humans. The positive
aspect of the spread of the disease to Europe is
heightened international awareness of the importance of
transparency and of effective national systems of alert
and surveillance, Zampaglione observed. Malaysia's
performance has also served as a positive example.
Zampaglione and Povenmire both observed that press
coverage is now limited in Latin America. Although the
rest of the world is in high alert, the OIE has had
limited contact with Latin America. Queried on next
steps, Zampaglione said that the OIE planned to work
through its regional office in Buenos Aires.

OLIVER