AVIAN INFLUENZA: DETAILS ON JAPAN'S USD 155

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TOKYO 001613

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AIAG AMBASSADOR LANGE
DEPT PASS TO AID/GH/HIDN DENNIS CARROLL
DEPT FOR OES/IHA SINGER AND FENDRICK
DEPT FOR EAP/J
USDA PASS TO APHIS
HHS PASS TO CDC
HHS FOR OGHA STEIGER, BHAT AND ELVANDER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO KFLU KSTH ECON PREL SOCI WHO JA
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: DETAILS ON JAPAN'S USD 155
MILLION + ASSISTANCE PLEDGE

REF: 05 TOKYO 3018

TOKYO 00001613 001.2 OF 004



1. (U) This cable contains an action request. Please see
paragraph 9.

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Background
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2. (U) On March 23, AID Counselor and ESToff met with the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) Economic Cooperation
Bureau Aid Planning Division Deputy Director Taro Yamamoto to
receive further details on the USD 155 million Japan pledged
to fight avian influenza (AI) in Asia. On December 12, Prime
Minister Koizumi announced at the ASEAN Plus Three Summit
meeting in Kuala Lumpur that Japan would donate USD 135
million by the end of March 2006 to help combat avian and
pandemic influenza in the Asian region. Japan pledged an
additional USD 20 million at the Beijing AI donors'
conference held in January. (Note: the actual donation will
total USD 158.7 million.)


3. (U) The GOJ has been working on the disbursement details
for the aid since the two pledges were made. Because the aid
was coming from JFY2005 appropriations and the supplemental
budget, MOFA was under pressure to disburse the monies prior
to the March 31 end of the fiscal year. Yamamoto explained
that all of the funds were now disbursed and that the
programs would be implemented during the upcoming fiscal
year.

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Funding Breakdown
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4. (U) The general breakdown for the USD 158.7 million is as
follows (with further details in paras 5-8):

- USD 46.8 million from MOFA for antivirals, personal
protective equipment or PPE, and diagnostic kits for ASEAN
members;

- USD 49.1 million from MOFA for the emergency risk
communications campaign and supplies to be disbursed through
UNICEF;

- USD 20 million from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to the
World Bank for worldwide AI efforts;

- USD 19.3 million from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries (MAFF) for animal health measures to be
disbursed through the OIE and FAO;

- USD 2 million from the Ministry of Health, Labor and
Welfare (MHLW) to be disbursed through the WHO;

- USD 21.5 million from the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to support center of

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excellence projects that research emerging and re-emerging
infectious diseases (including, but not limited to, avian and
pandemic influenza) in Vietnam, China and Thailand. (For
full details on this program, see 05 Tokyo 3018.)

- The GOJ will also provide influenza-related training for a
minimum of 100 trainees from the region.

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PPEs and Japan's Stockpile of Antivirals
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5. (SBU) Japan has set aside USD $46.8 million to fund
antivirals, personal protective equipment and diagnostic kits
for use in ASEAN countries. Yamamoto said that the details
for the allocation of the 700,000 units of PPE have not yet
been decided. Tokyo is currently working with the ASEAN
Secretariat to determine the most efficient and meaningful

SIPDIS
distribution of the above materials. Yamamoto mentioned that
though the ASEAN Secretariat has "theoretical control" over
the funds, MOFA will be in close consultation as to how the
money should be spent.


6. (SBU) Yamamoto explained that current thinking in Tokyo on
the Tamiflu donation was that it should be stockpiled in one
location, rather than being distributed across the region.
This would allow for a quick response and would not tie up
the antiviral medications in any specific country or
countries. The Ministry has not yet decided on a location.
Potential candidate sites include Bangkok, Singapore and a
location in Japan. MOFA is weighing the pros and cons of
each site. For example, in the case of Singapore, Yamamoto
said that the pros include the fact that JICA already has an
emergency relief supplies warehouse there and the airport is
open 24 hours a day. However, Singapore does not have direct
flights to Laos. Bangkok, on the other hand, has connections
throughout the region and a regional JICA office.

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Emergency Risk Communications, Supplies and Equipment
-------------- --------------


7. (U) Yamamoto explained that Japan's proposed
communications campaign through UNICEF was originally
targeted at the five Asian countries that had first reported
human cases of avian influenza: Laos, Thailand, Cambodia,
Indonesia and Malaysia. However, after additional human and
animal cases were reported throughout the region, MOFA added
Burma, Bangladesh, Mongolia and China to the list. In
February, the Ministry decided to further expand the group of
targeted countries to include Niger and Nigeria. The
emergency risk communications project will:

- include programs to sensitize governments, health
personnel, poultry farmers, and other stakeholders to the AI
situation
- provide funding for the co-production of CREATE
- develop additional communications materials such as TV and

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radio messages in local languages
- fund the implementation of the various projects, and
- provide for post-campaign evaluation, documentation and
dissemination


8. (U) Though not completely finalized and still somewhat
fluid, Yamamoto said the GOJ was planning to allocate the USD
49.1 million to UNICEF in the following manner:

EMERGENCY RISK COMMUNICATIONS

-Bangladesh USD 1.25 million
-Burma USD 1.46 million
-Cambodia USD 1.30 million
-China USD 1.25 million
-Indonesia USD 2.60 million
-Laos USD 1.15 million
-Mongolia USD 890 thousand
-Thailand USD 1.66 million
-Vietnam USD 1.96 million
-Niger and Nigeria USD 2.53 million

PROVISION OF EMERGENCY SUPPLIES

(Procurement and distribution of preventative hygiene and
sanitation supplies for high-risk groups)

-Bangladesh USD 550 thousand
-Burma USD 650 thousand
-Cambodia USD 500 thousand
-China (none)
-Indonesia USD 900 thousand
-Laos USD 450 thousand
-Mongolia USD 350 thousand
-Thailand USD 500 thousand
-Vietnam USD 600 thousand
-Niger and Nigeria USD 400 thousand

(Procurement and distribution of effective vaccines for
high-risk groups)

- The GOJ will provide USD 20 million total for the entire
group of countries. An additional USD 600 thousand will be
used for inter-regional coordination. Yamamoto pointed out
to AID Counselor that the details for the vaccine program
remain to be decided, because a new vaccine is currently
under development and the GOJ has not yet determined which
version will be most effective. MOFA plans to further
discuss this with UNICEF in June or July to make an informed
decision as to which vaccine it will purchase and how the
vaccines would later be distributed. Yamamoto said that the
vaccine funds were specifically earmarked, so they would not
be redirected for use in other efforts.

- Tokyo will also provide USD 1 million to EAPRO-Bangkok, USD
750 thousand to ROSA-Kathmandu, USD 750 thousand to
WCARO-Dakar and USD 500 thousand to ESARO-Nairobi. These
funds are to provide technical assistance to country offices

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and national governments in communication strategies and
material development, documentation and tool sharing.
Finally, USD 1.36 million will be spent on inter-regional
coordination efforts to provide policy support, interagency
coordination on communication, development of global risk
information management strategies, and technical consultation
on vaccines with WHO-Geneva and WPRO.

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Action Request
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9. (U) Yamamoto said that he has heard the United States is
planning to purchase PPEs and stockpile them in Bangkok. He
would like to know what the status and timetable are to make
that equipment available. Yamamoto also asked how the PPEs
will be distributed -- if they would be stockpiled in one
location for deployment as part of an early response or
divided and delivered to multiple countries. He also
understood that PPE kits could be tailored for different end
users such as chicken cullers and poultry workers and medical
officials. MOFA is currently focusing on working out the
details for its stockpile of antivirals, but because the
Ministry will also need to soon consider what to do with the
700 thousand PPEs it has agreed to purchase and stockpile,
Yamamoto asked for further details on U.S. plans that may
help with its own process.


10. Post requests further details on the U.S. plans for PPEs
that can be passed on to MOFA. Yamamoto's request provides a
good opportunity to coordinate our joint efforts in the
region.

SCHIEFFER