AGAINST THE ODDS, MIDDLE EAST CANCER CONSORTIUM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001876

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR NEA/IPA, NEA/RA, OES/IHA AND OES/PCI
HHS FOR NIH/FOGARTY CENTER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO PREL KPAL KWBG IS XF XD ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SUBJECT: AGAINST THE ODDS, MIDDLE EAST CANCER CONSORTIUM
EXTENDING ITS REACH

REF: 05 AMMAN 9166

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY.

Consulate General Jerusalem cleared this cable.


1. (SBU) Summary: The Middle East Cancer Consortium is extending
its reach and adding attendees from additional countries to its
activities. Independent Palestinian health professionals remain
eager to participate in MECC conferences and courses while PA
officials are off-limits. Member countries have begun providing
in-kind contributions and NGOs are also supplementing USG
financial support for MECC. Turkey, the newest MECC member, is
looking to utilize MECC to expand cancer cooperation with nations
to its east. The Israeli executive director is planning tenth
anniversary commemorations in Israel this fall. End summary.

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MECC Weathers Post-Hamas Transition
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2. (SBU) Middle East Cancer Consortium Executive Director
Professor Michael Silbermann met with the Ambassador May 8 to
report on recent MECC developments. MECC meetings and courses
took place in Ankara in April. There were participants in Ankara
from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Qatar and Iraq in addition to
MECC member countries Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus, the U.S. and
the host, Turkey. Egyptian doctors presented a course in Ankara
on cancer epidemiology and biostatistics.
Consistent with the USG contact policy for the Palestinian
Authority and OFAC regulations, PA Ministry of Health officials
were ineligible for USG funding for travel to the conference (and
all USG funding for the Palestinian Cancer Registry, which falls
under the PA Health Ministry, has been suspended). As a result,
PA officials did not attend the Ankara meetings. Silbermann
provided names and other personal data for vetting by Consulate
General Jerusalem of independent Palestinian health professionals
looking to participate in a June MECC activity in Larnaca, Cyprus
focused on cancers in children. The annual MECC Ministerial
Steering Committee Meeting normally takes place on the margins of
the World Health Assembly in Geneva, scheduled for later this
month, and is chaired by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human
Services. Given the restrictions on contact with the PA, HHS has
already informed Silbermann that the Steering Committee Meeting
will be postponed.

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Finally, Not Totally Dependent on U.S. for Funding
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3. (SBU) Funding has been an ongoing challenge for MECC over its
10-year history. Turkey covered hosting costs in Ankara, and
Cyprus will do the same for the upcoming meeting in Larnaca.
These in-kind contributions are finally beginning to fulfill the
provision in the MECC charter stating that all members will play
their part in sustaining the organization financially. Until
recently, almost all financial support had come from the USG.
The Israeli Cancer Society and the Turkish Hope for Good Health
Foundation will cover air fares for their country's participants
in Larnaca. The American Cancer Society will cover air fares for
the Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian participants. Silbermann
said that MECC may be able to sponsor certification courses in
the future to raise additional funds for MECC. The Ambassador
noted the potential for Israeli and Egyptian doctors to work
together to develop and present such courses.

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Turkey Very Proactive
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4. (SBU) Turkey, MECC's newest member, has been eager to assist
Silbermann in extending MECC's reach. The GOT MOH is interested
in involving Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, other countries of
the former Soviet Union, Afghanistan and Pakistan in MECC
activities. The Turkish MFA discouraged Silbermann from
responding positively to an invitation from the Kurdistan (Iraq)
MOH to host a MECC activity in Arbil. The GOI and the GOT are
positive, though, about more general Iraqi participation in MECC
activities. The Pakistani Cancer Society has offered to host
MECC in Karachi. Silbermann is meeting with the Director of the
GOI MFA Center for International Cooperation (MASHAV) to seek
funding for future events in Israel, but also to check whether
GOI security restrictions would prevent Israeli participation in
Karachi. The Tunisian MOH has also expressed interest in hosting
MECC activities.
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Commemorative Activities in Israel this Fall
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5. (SBU) Silbermann told the Ambassador he envisioned holding
commemorative activities in Israel later this year to celebrate
MECC's tenth anniversary. The Ambassador readily agreed to host
a dinner or small reception in honor of the occasion and to help
open a conference in which experts from MECC countries and other
invited participants could present papers. A recent NCI report
based on data from MECC cancer registries in Cyprus, Egypt,
Israel and Jordan could also be presented at the conference.
Silbermann believes he can obtain funding from private
foundations to bring about 35 participants to Israel. The
Ambassador noted that there are outstanding Israeli medical
institutions that would likely be willing to support the
commemorative gathering, and which could add to the draw of the
gathering for cancer experts considering attending.

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The Fight Against Cancer in the Middle East
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6. (SBU) Silbermann agreed that rising concerns about cancer and
other health risks may begin to bring down smoking rates in the
Middle East in the next five years. He mentioned one
particularly effective ad suggesting a link between smoking and
impotence. Awareness campaigns in the region are carried out by
local cancer societies. The Ambassador suggested MECC might do a
comparative study of the effectiveness of those campaigns. Early
detection and willingness to receive treatment remains a problem
among Arab populations, especially for breast cancers. There
appears to be both embarrassment and a sense of resignation about
the disease, according to Silbermann. Silbermann said these
factors are complicated by the need for expert manual examination
in addition to mammograms to increase early detection. Regarding
incidences of cancers in MECC countries, Silbermann said in
Turkey there appeared to be a link between environmental factors,
including asbestos, and lung cancer. In Egypt, bladder cancers
were more common, linked to water supplies. In Israel, the
incidence of breast cancer among Jewish women was approaching one
in seven.


7. (SBU) Silbermann noted that Ramban Hospital near Haifa served
a third of Israel's population in cancer treatments, including
almost all of the country's Arab population. The hospital has
many well-trained Arab doctors and nurses on its staff.
Silbermann said that ethnic Arab health practitioners had
garnered positive attention from Israel's Jewish majority and
from medical institutions in the Gulf. Many Jews prefer Arab
doctors, he said, because "they still see medical care as a
mission" and will visit with their patients in the afternoon,
while their Jewish counterparts head off to their private
practices following morning hospital rounds. Silbermann said
that medical facilities in the Emirates and Qatar, in particular
a new medical center in Abu Dhabi affiliated with Johns Hopkins,
are interested in recruiting Arab Israeli nurses. He also said
he knew of two Iraqi doctors interested in doing specialty
training in Haifa.

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MECC On The Move
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8. (SBU) Comment: The fight against cancer is compelling. MECC
is making clear progress, both in extending its reach and
garnering financial support. The proactive Israeli executive
director is building MECC's credibility and reputation despite
obstacles arising from recent political events in the region.
End comment.

JONES