AMBASSADOR'S CALL ON MINISTER OF HEALTH KHAW BOON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 000350

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR UNDER SECRETARY DOBRIANSKY
STATE PASS TO HHS FOR ABHAT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMED EAGR TBIO ECON EINV APECO SN
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S CALL ON MINISTER OF HEALTH KHAW BOON
WAN



1. (SBU) Summary. Minister of Health KHAW Boon Wan told the
Ambassador during her February 2 courtesy call that our
bilateral Regional Emerging Diseases Intervention (REDI)
Center first needed to "get off the ground" -- hiring a
permanent Director and additional staff -- before broadening
its focus beyond regional health-related training activities.
The Ambassador noted that the Ministry of Health's (MOH)
prompt completion of U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) grant applications for REDI would provide
substantial funding to jump-start the Center's larger role in
combating emerging diseases. The Ambassador stressed that
REDI's effectiveness would be further enhanced by the
accession of other APEC economies; Minister Khaw advocated
that we proceed cautiously in this regard to mitigate
potential political sensitivities. On Avian Influenza (AI),
Minister Khaw said that developing a regional network of
physicians and healthcare workers could prove critical to
containing a possible pandemic, especially in a region where
government transparency was sometimes lacking. Minister Khaw
commented that Singapore's proposed trilateral initiative
with the USG to establish an "AI-free zone" in Indonesia was
proceeding smoothly and that he welcomed U.S. participation
in the next planning meeting scheduled for early March in
Singapore. End Summary.

REDI CENTER
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2. (SBU) Referencing her January 12 visit to the REDI
Center, the Ambassador urged MOH to complete at the earliest
opportunity two HHS grant applications. She noted that these
grants, to be used in part to train health care workers in
Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Laos, would constitute the
first substantial funding to REDI since we signed the
agreement on November 22, 2005 establishing REDI as an
international organization under Singapore law. Minister
Khaw said he had "high expectations" for REDI's future. He
cautioned, however, that REDI should concentrate for now on
training projects similar to those in which it was already
engaged before branching out into facilitating biomedical
research and other activities. Asked about REDI's efforts to
fight bioterrorism, Minister Khaw said that REDI was created
to prevent both natural and man-made epidemics, and that
neither mission should be neglected.

THIRD PARTY ACESSION TO REDI
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3. (SBU) The Ambassador commented that REDI's role in
combating emerging diseases like AI would be enhanced by the
accession of other APEC economies. Minister Khaw agreed, but
stressed the need to first get REDI off the ground, including
by hiring a permanent Director and additional full-time
staff, before "delving too far" into what could be a
politically sensitive area. (Note: Under the terms of the
2005 REDI Agreement, Singapore is obligated to draft
accession language for USG consideration. End note.)

REGIONAL LINKAGES KEY TO COMBATTING AI
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4. (SBU) Minister Khaw suggested that, through
REDI-sponsored training and workshops, regional physicians
and healthcare workers could develop informal communication
networks; these networks were the best way to ensure early
detection and timely alerts of an AI outbreak, especially in
a part of the world where governments generally were not
known for sufficient transparency, he observed. Those best
able to spot outbreaks first (i.e., physicians) could serve a
useful role in circumventing potential delays in government
responses, he said. Minister Khaw concluded that by
facilitating linkages among a few thousand doctors in the
region, it might be possible to contain a pandemic.

TRILATERAL INITIATIVE
--------------


5. (SBU) The Ambassador asked about the status of the
GOS-proposed trilateral AI initiative, whereby Singapore and
the United States (through REDI) and Indonesia would work
together to prevent and control AI within a designated area

SINGAPORE 00000350 002 OF 002


of Indonesia. Minister Khaw said that the pilot project was
"coming along nicely." He explained that Singapore and
Indonesia had held two working-level meetings since he first
raised the idea with Indonesia's Vice-President and Minister
of Health last fall. Minister Khaw said that he looked
forward to U.S. participation in the next meeting, most
likely in early March, and to a subsequent meeting, possibly
in April, that would include the World Health Organization
and the World Bank.
HERBOLD