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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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