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