SINGAPORE HOSTS FIRST INDONESIAN AVIAN INFLUENZA

UNCLAS SINGAPORE 000818 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR U/S DOBRIANSKY USDA FOR ACTING U/S LAMBERT STATE PASS TO HHS FOR ABHAT MANILA FOR APHIS LCARDENAS ROME FOR FAO JAKARTA FOR USAID, NAMRU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFLU AMED CASC EAGR AMGT SN ID SUBJECT: SINGAPORE HOSTS FIRST INDONESIAN AVIAN INFLUENZA TRILATERAL PILOT PROJECT MEETING REF: JAKARTA 03199 ¶1. (U) Representatives from the United States, Indonesia, and Singapore met jointly for the first time March 2 in Singapore to discuss preparations for the Indonesian Avian Influenza Trilateral Pilot Project. The World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO),World Organization for Animal Health (OIE),and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) joined in additional meetings held March 3. While they did not resolve all issues pertaining to financial and technical assistance, participants agreed to begin implementation of the project as early as April (reftel). ¶2. (SBU) Delegates, particularly those from the USG, expressed concerns about the implementation process, specifically: --The proposal does not address early warning and detection in poultry farms. --The proposal envisions only limited participation by veterinary and agricultural officials and allocates disproportionate funding to the human health sector for what is essentially an animal disease initiative. --Indonesian human health and animal health agencies lack coordination. --International agencies lack coordination on other AI-related initiatives already underway in Indonesia. --The absence of a firm boundary to separate Tangerang Municipality (where the pilot project will take place) from the much larger and more populous Tangerang District makes disease control problematic. --"Lessons learned" need to be applied well before the project's evaluation phase commences in 2.5 years. ¶3. (U) The AI Trilateral Project, first proposed by Singapore and announced by Foreign Minister George Yeo and Secretary Rice on the sidelines of the November 2005 APEC Economic Leader's meeting in Pusan, Korea, aims to eradicate avian influenza within a defined geographic region of Indonesia. Based on lessons learned during the pilot project, the Government of Indonesia hopes to replicate similar AI prevention initiatives in other affected areas of the country. Singapore and Indonesia officials held bilateral meetings in December and January to determine the scope of the project and to develop a three-year implementation and evaluation timeline. HERBOLD