CZECH MEDICAL AID TO THE MIDDLE EAST: "A SIGNAL TO

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000192

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NCE, NEA/I, SA/PAB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREL IZ PK EZ
SUBJECT: CZECH MEDICAL AID TO THE MIDDLE EAST: "A SIGNAL TO
THE REST OF THE WORLD"

REF: PRAGUE 0154


1. (U) Summary: U.S. Ambassador Cabaniss, the Iraqi
Ambassador, and the Pakistani Charge d'Affaires visited Iraqi
and Pakistani children recuperating in Prague from surgery on
February 21. The purpose of their visit was to thank the
Czech government for its "medevac" program, which brings
critically ill Iraqi and Pakistani children to the Czech
Republic for free medical care. In 2005, the Czechs spent
over USD 1 million o the medevac program and a new cardiac
center inIraq, in addition to other humanitarian aid
provded to Iraq and Pakistan (reftel). End Summary.

. (U) On February 21, Ambassador Cabaniss paid a godwill
visit to fifteen Iraqi and Pakistani chilren recovering from
surgery provided free of charge by the Czech governmen. The
purpose of the U.S. Embassy-organized visi to the Olivova
Detska Lecebna Hospital outside f Praguewas to express U.S.
gratitude for Czechmedical aid to Iraq and Pakistan.
Ambassador Cabaiss was joined by Ambassador Dhia Al Dabbas,
theAmbassador of Iraq, and Malik Mohammed Farook, theCharge
d'Affaires of the Embassy of Pakistan (loated in Warsaw).


3. (U) Czech representatives icluded Tomas Haisman, Director
of the Czech Minisry of Interior's Department of Asylum and
Migraton Policies; Dr. Ludwig, Director of Motol Hospita
(where the surgeries are performed); Dr. Nasdunak, Director
of Olivova Detska Lecebn Hospital (where the children
recuperate); and some of the doctors who provided surgery.


4. (U) Ambassador Cabaniss thanked Czech MOI officials and
Czech doctors for holding out a hand to the needy, which he
described as "a signal to the rest of the world." Charge
Farook thanked the U.S. Embassy for arranging the event, and
thanked the USG and GOCR for their humanitarian and medical
aid to Pakistan following the earthquake.


5. (U) The Czech MOI funds the medevac program, which is a
partnership between the Czech Army and the MOI. The program
was created in 1999 to provide medical aid to children in
Kosovo, and was expanded in 2003 to include Iraq. Czech
military doctors travel from Prague to Basra to identify
children with terminal congenital heart disease. The Czechs
bring the children and family members to Prague, and then
provide surgery, legal assistance, and material support
(e.g., housing, meals, social programs, toys, clothing, etc.)
for approximately three months. When the children have
recovered, they are returned to their homes in Iraq. Since
2003, the Czechs have treated a total of 38 Iraqi children
(12 children in 2005).


6. (SBU) To supplement the effectiveness of the medevac
program, the Czechs established a pediatric cardiac center at
an existing hospital in Basra in 2005-6. The MFA funded the
training of four Iraqi doctors in Prague and the purchase of
diagnostic equipment for the center. A Czech delegation will
travel to Iraq in March 2006 to formally open the center. The
date has not been announced for security reasons.


7. (U) The Czechs expanded the Medevac program to Pakistan
following the earthquake in 2005. There, Czech military
doctors have already identified nine children in
earthquake-affected regions who required medical care
unavailable in Pakistan. (Note: due to the difficulty of
accessing earthquake-affected regions, the MOI would welcome
referrals from the USG to children in Pakistan in critical
need of medical care.) The Czechs brought the children to the
Czech Republic and provided surgery to correct improperly
performed amputations, and cleft palates. The Czechs have
also provided legal assistance and material support to the
children and their family members. The MOI plans to provide
additional medical assistance to Pakistan in 2006.


8. (U) In 2005 alone, the Czechs spent over USD 1 million on
the medevac program and the pediatric center: USD 202,000 for
the Iraq aid, USD 406,000 for the Pakistan aid, and USD
487,000 for the pediatric center. The MOI plans to request a
budget of up to USD 600,000 for the Medivac program in 2006,
which include aid for Iraq and Pakistan.


9. (U) Several Czech publications covered the visit,
resulting in an article in the largest circulation Czech
Daily (Mlada Fronta Dnes) with a photograph of Ambassador
Cabaniss meeting with an Iraqi mother and child. The
Ambassador previously visited another group of Iraqi children
in December 2005, which also resulted in press coverage.
CABANISS