BURMA: CONVERGING ON AI ISSUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000259 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS; PACOM FOR FPA; USDA FOR FAS, APHIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2016 TAGS: EAGR EAID AMED PGOV PHUM PREL SOCI TBIO KFLU BM SUBJECT: BURMA: CONVERGING ON AI ISSUES REF: A. RANGOON 171 ¶B. RANGOON 154 ¶C. RANGOON 124 Classified By: Poloff Dean Tidwell for Reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: USAID's Regional Infectious Diseases Advisor, on a second visit to Rangoon, encouraged WHO and FAO to identify needs and strengthen their capacity to investigate and respond to AI outbreaks in Burma. The GOB updated its national response plan, but some responsible ministries still appear to be traveling on separate tracks. We do see signs that government ministries and UN agencies are beginning to increase coordination, but much work remains. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Dr. John MacArthur, USAID's Regional Infectious Diseases Advisor, visited Rangoon February 21-24. He met with FAO and WHO to discuss gaps in coverage and how to strengthen their ability to investigate and respond to AI outbreaks. FAO country representative Tang Zhengping noted that FAO lacks any veterinary experts on its team and could better support the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MLF) if it had an international veterinary technical advisor and a local counterpart. Similarly, Dr. Adik Wibowo, the WHO country representative, felt that adding an epidemiology advisor to the WHO team would significantly increase WHO's effectiveness in investigating reports of AI outbreaks in Burma. ¶3. (SBU) The EAC met on February 24 to discuss reports of new AI outbreaks in India and Malaysia. The EAC agreed that no tripwires have been crossed, but that Post will closely monitor further AI developments in the region. ¶4. (C) We recently obtained a draft of the revised Ministry of Health "National Strategic Plan for Prevention and Control of Avian Influenza and Human Influenza Preparedness and Response," dated January 31. In addition, FAO provided us with a separate AI management plan, issued by the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries on February 17. Although the National AI Working Committee drafted the MOH publication, which appears to be the principal plan, the separate MLF plan reveals that ministries are not coordinating as closely as they should in drafting a comprehensive national plan. UN PERSPECTIVES ON AI ¶5. (C) UN Resident Coordinator Charles Petrie described the lead roles FAO, WHO, and to a lesser degree UNICEF, play in addressing AI issues in Burma. He stressed that these UN agencies need to work together more closely and admitted gaining their collaboration remains a challenge. Petrie suggested that international donors might have greater leverage in coaxing the UN agencies to coordinate their efforts. MacArthur agreed, noting that the good cooperation among UN agencies on AI issues in other countries in the region could serve as a model for Burma. He suggested that increased coordination between WHO and FAO would also likely lead to improved cooperation between Burma's MOH and MLF. ¶6. (C) Petrie said recently released GOB guidelines for UN agencies and international NGOs to operate in Burma could pose obstacles to AI activities if implemented (refs A and B). According to Petrie, these guidelines are "definitely not helpful for our operations." He characterized the UN agencies as "proactively resisting" the guidelines by trying to engage the GOB in a dialogue on more appropriate regulations. Petrie also pointed out that "government concurrence" does not always guarantee "regime concurrence." He stressed the importance of obtaining commitments from the highest levels of the ruling military regime for programs to be successful in Burma. ¶7. (SBU) On February 22, the WHO organized its third monthly "AI Information Sharing" meeting. Dr. MacArthur gave a presentation on practical medical aspects of AI outbreaks in the region. On a positive note, the MOH permitted a representative from MLF's Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (LBVD) to participate in the meeting. Dr. Wibowo described this as a small victory in strengthening AI cooperation among government ministries. Dr. Than Hla, Director for Disease Diagnosis and Control at LBVD, made a presentation at the meeting on AI animal surveillance activities. ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: We welcome signs that the GOB has increased inter-ministerial cooperation on AI issues. The new AI strategic plan shows it is willing to adapt to new information and changing conditions. However, broader consensus on the national plan and greater cooperation among government ministries and UN agencies remains elusive. For example, the Ministry of Forestry oversees national parks, wildlife preserves, and bird sanctuaries, but has yet to join AI discussions. U.S. expertise on AI has been enthusiastically welcomed by all parties and could help bring them together. END COMMENT. VILLAROSA