COUNTRY CLEARANCE APPROVAL FOR CDC OFFICIAL PRATT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 000858 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE PLS PASS TO HHS FOR STEIGER OGHA STATE FOR WHA/BSC STATE PLS. PASS TO CDC ATLANTA FOR DMCCORMICK E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO KSCA CDC OTRA BR SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE APPROVAL FOR CDC OFFICIAL PRATT REF: CDC ATD 1604 ¶1. Mission welcomes and grants country clearance for Dr. Michael Pratt, Lead, Senior Medical Officer, NCCDPHP, HHS/CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),to Sao Paulo, May 15; to Brasilia, Brazil, May 15-18; to Curitiba, May 18-20; to Brasilia May 20-23; and, to Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 23-24, 2007. Purpose of travel: -- Brasilia: Teach two three day evaluation courses as part of the CDC-Brazilian Ministry of Health, CDC Foundation Cooperative agreement. -- Curitiba: Site Visit to Community Intervention Evaluation in Curitiba; -- Brasilia: Continue teaching the evaluation course as part of the CDC-Brazilian Ministry of Health, CDC Foundation Cooperative agreement; -- Sao Paulo: Meeting and site visit for the CDC - International Union of Health Promotion Education (IUHPE) Cooperative Agreement in Sao Paulo. ¶2. Visitors are reminded that all US citizens traveling to Brazil for any purpose require visas, which must be obtained in advance from a Brazilian Embassy or Consulate. "Airport visas" do not exist, and immigration authorities will refuse entry to anyone without a valid visa. All Brazilian visas are considered invalid regardless of validity if not used within 90 days of issuance. ¶3. Visitors should be current with all immunizations required for Brazil. Those arriving from flights that do not originate in the United States are advised to ensure that their yellow fever vaccination is up to date, and that they have their WHO yellow cards with them to prove it. If you require a yellow fever vaccination and it is for the first time, not a booster, it should be given at least 10 days before travel to be effective. Please consult with appropriate medical authorities before traveling. ¶4. Please be advised that over the last six weeks, flights within Brazil have been experiencing routine delays of up to several hours due to difficulties the air traffic control system has been experiencing. The U.S. Embassy continues to receive reports from official visitors and tourists of recent VARIG domestic and international flight cancellations due to the airline's financial difficulties. These cancellations continue to result in missed connecting flights in Sao Paulo and Rio, and disruption of travelers' itineraries. Although the airline has been purchased by a new buyer, both domestic and international flights are likely to operate at a significantly reduced confidence level during their restructuring period. U.S. citizens should keep this in mind when making travel plans. ¶5. All official visitors must attend the RSO Security briefing. ¶6. Mission understands that no Embassy/Consulate assistance is required and that traveler has a NACI/no access to classified material security clearance. Traveler is required to check in with the embassy upon arrival. Embassy points of contact for this visit are: -- CDC A/Director Dr. Suzanne Westman, Tel (55) (61) 3274-4932, Fax (55) (61) 3273-4019, cellular phone (55) (61) 8119-0755, email: suzanne@aids.gov.br -- Science Counselor, Patricia Norman, Tel (55)(61) 3312-7432, Fax (55)(61) 3312-7646 (Science Section),cellular phone (55)(61)9965-1439, email: NormanPD@state.gov ¶7. International emergency contact info: Sandra M. Matsudo, Scientific Committe Member, Centrode Estudos Laboratorio de Aptidao Fisica de Sao Caetano do Sul (CELAFISCS) and Agita Sao Paulo, Caixa Postal 168 - Sao Caetano do Sul - SP - Brasil; TEL: 55-11-4229-8980, FAX: 55-11-4229-9643, Email: sandra@celafiscs.org.br, Lodging: Blue Tree Park Brasilia, SHTN, Trecho 01, Lote 1B, Bloco C, 70800-200, Brasilia, DF, TEL: 5561-3424-7000, FAX: 5561-3424-7001. U.S. point of contact: Manila K. Padta, HHS/CDC, tel. 770-488-5008, Fax: 770-488-5473. ¶8. Please find below information needed for the city to be visited: - Brasilia - The United States Embassy in Brasilia is located at Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3, telephone number (from U.S.) BRASILIA 00000858 002 OF 003 011+(55)(61) 3312-7000, fax number (from U.S.) 011+(55) (61) 3312-7676. Emergencies and calls after normal business hours may be directed to Post One at 011+(55)(61) 3312-7400. - Rio de Janeiro - The United States Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro is located at Avenida Presidente Wilson 147 B. Castelo, telephone number (from U.S.) 011+(55)(21) 3823-2000, fax number (from U.S.) 011+(55)(21)3823-2003. Emergencies and calls after normal business hours may be directed to Post One at 011+(55)(21) 38232029. - Sao Paulo - The United States Consulae General in Sao Paulo is located at Rua Thomas eloney, 381 - Chacara Santo Antonio, telephone numer (from U.S.) 011+(55)(11) 5186-7000, fax numbe (from U.S.) 011+(55)(11) 5186-7099. Emergenciesand calls after normal business hours may be dircted to Post One at 011+(55)(11) 5181-8730. ¶9. ersons entering Brazil under the USG auspices havean important role to play in strengthening U.S. Brazil cooperation. Please keep this priority i mind during your visit and inform the embassy o nearest consulate promptly of any opportunities o problems that arise. As a result of the imposiion of biometric enrolment of the US-VISIT progrm, the Government of Brazil started fingerprinting and photographing arriving U.S. citizens in Januay 2004. Present GOB policy is not to fingerprin U.S. travelers arriving on official or diplomatc visas. It is possible, however, that officialvisitors could be asked to submit to a fingerprintig through administrative error. The Embassy hops that visitors will comply with reasonable requsts from the Brazilian immigration authorities. Any unusual delays or unreasonable treatment shoul be bought to the attention of the Management Oficer so they can be relayed to the GOB. Full coperation with the identification procedures is avisable. ¶10. MEDICAL EVACUATION, INSURANCE AND EALTH UNIT ACCESS ISSUES: Direct Hire employees(not contractors) of the Department of State, USAD, DOD, and CDC need not take further action. Diret Hire employees of other U.S Government Agencie must provide their control officer by cable or -mail a name and 24-hour point of contact for thir agency that can authorize medical evacuation. Fr employees whose agencies are not authorized tofund medevacs, individuals will be responsible fr obtaining their own medevac insurance and provding the information to their control officer Te USG does not cover contract employees for medevac Therefore, all USG contractors (regardless of he government agency they are contracted to) mut provide their control officer prior to arrivalthe name, phone number, and policy number of theirmedevac insurance provider(s) for use in case of mergency. Contractors do not have access to serices in the Health Units at Post. In an emergenc, the Health Unit will try to facilitate access o care on the local economy or facilitation with teir medevac provider. Contractors need to be advied that for any medical care needs they will nee to use services provided on the local economy. ¶11. Please find below some information on Administrative procedures and requirements: ¶A. Each visitor, regardless of length of stay, must bring/forward fiscal data to pay for direct costs of the visit. Each agency, organization or visiting delegation will be charged for the actual costs attributed to its visit. Direct charge costs include, but are not limited to: -- American and LES overtime (for such services as airport expediting, cashier accommodation exchange, control room staffing, representational event support); Travel and per diem costs incurred by post personnel in support of visitor's field travel; -- Rental of vehicles and other equipment; -- Long distance telephone calls; -- Office supplies; -- Gasoline and other vehicle maintenance costs; -- Departure tax and other airport fees. Post will not provide service if fiscal data is not provided for the direct charges. ¶B. For TDYers remaining at post over 30 days, there is a charge for ICASS support services. This charge is for the following ICASS services and will be billed thru the ICASS TDY module, based on a per-capita-basis, prorated for the length of stay. For example, a TDY visit by one USG employee of 06 months' duration would be counted as 0.5: BRASILIA 00000858 003 OF 003 -- Basic Package; -- Community Liaison - CLO; -- Health Services. ¶C. If your sponsoring agency is not signed up for ICASS services at post, please be prepared to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) document for ICASS support services upon arrival. The agency should provide post with a written communication generated by the traveler's headquarters that confirms the agency will pay ICASS charges for the TDYer. The communication should include the agency ICASS billing code to which the TDY support should be charged and authorize the traveler to sign the ICASS invoice generated by the TDY module. Agencies will not be billed until the accumulated invoice cost for TDY support exceeds Dols 2,500 for the fiscal year. Where travel is urgent, the TDYers should bring this documentation with him/her to ensure there are no interruptions in the provision of service. Post will not provide any service to a TDYer staying in excess of thirty days without provision of this documentation before day 31 of the TDY. ¶12. Crime is the principal and real threat to visitors to Brazil. The crime threat level in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Recife is critical. Armed street robberies are common in these cities. The area in and around the hotel sector in Brasilia is extremely dangerous, especially at night. Embassy visitors have been robbed under gunpoint while walking on the street. Taxis and private vehicles should be used to move about. ¶13. In addition, individuals and organizations with ties to extremist groups operate in the tri-border area between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina - this includes the Iguacu falls area. Official visitors contemplating travel to this area should contact the Embassy before doing so, as well as Embassy Asuncion and/or Embassy Buenos Aires if they plan to cross into Paraguay and/or Argentina. ¶14. Visitors should practice common sense preventative security techniques, just as they would in any large city in the world. Some of the more important tips that you should follow to avoid becoming a crime victim are: -- Do not carry or wear valuable items that will attract the attention of thieves. If you need to wear expensive jewelry or carry a camera; conceal it until you arrive at your destination. -- Be aware of the street environment and avoid contact with those who may be looking for robbery targets. Seek a safer location. Go into a store, bank or simply cross the street. -- Do not physically resist any robbery attempt. While this is a personal decision, statistics show that resistance leads to injury. -- Do not answer your hotel room door until you positively confirm who is on the other side. Look out the peephole, or call the front desk to confirm the visitor. -- Do not walk on the beaches after dark. Assaults are common. -- Avoid city buses. Many pass through high crime areas and are susceptible to robberies. ¶15. Visitors who intend to bring U.S. Government portable microcomputers into the embassy or consulate must obtain prior approval from the systems manager and the RSO/PSO. The use of privately owned computers is discouraged in any government facility. SOBEL