WHO INTERGOVERNMENTAL MEETING: USDEL BILATERAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L GENEVA 002507

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/AIAG, IO/T, OES
PASS TO HSC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2012
TAGS: KFLU TBIO EAID WHO
SUBJECT: WHO INTERGOVERNMENTAL MEETING: USDEL BILATERAL
WITH INDONESIAN HEALTH MINISTER


Classified By: Ambassador John Lange for reasons 1.4 b/d


1. (SBU) Summary. Special Representative on Avian and
Pandemic Influenza John Lange met November 21 with Indonesian
Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari on the margins of the WHO
Intergovernmental Meeting on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness:
Sharing of Influenza Viruses and Access to Vaccines and Other
Benefits. Noting Indonesia has raised a legitimate issue
about access by developing countries to vaccines and other
benefits flowing from the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance
Network (GISN),Ambassador Lange, reaffirming the U.S.
commitment to the provision of such benefits, stressed they
must be available to all countries in need, based on those
countries' responsible participation in the GISN. Lange
noted the fundamental difference in the U.S. approach - that
provision of benefits must be voluntary - and Indonesia's
insistence on the mandatory receipt of benefits through
control of the virus. Supari, repeatedly insisting that the
WHO system is unfair, inequitable, and non-transparent, said
Indonesia has no idea
what happens to the viruses it submits to GISN and receives
no benefits from its contributions to the system. The two
parties fundamentally disagreed on the concept of free and
unencumbered sample sharing. Lange asked Supari to resume
sample sharing while negotiations continued, and Supari said
that would require a Materials Transfer Agreement (MTA) or
other mechanism. Despite the divergence of views, both Lange
and Supari agreed that continued bilateral discussion of
these issues could be fruitful. End summary.


2. (SBU) As originally proposed by Indonesia, Ambassador John
Lange, Special Representative on Avian and Pandemic Influenza
(G/AIAG),met November 21 with Indonesian Health Minister
Siti Fadilah Supari during the second day of the WHO
Intergovernmental Meeting on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness:
Sharing of Influenza Viruses and Access to Vaccines and Other
Benefits (PIP-IGM). Supari was joined by Indonesia's
Ambassador in Geneva, Makarim Wibisono, and three notetakers.
Lange was accompanied by Mission Health Attache and Deputy
Head of USDel David Hohman.


3. (SBU) Expressing appreciation for the meeting, Lange
underscored President Bush's personal concern about a
possible influenza pandemic and stressed the importance to
global public health of providing viruses to the GISN. Lange
enumerated the extensive assistance provided to Indonesia for
both avian influenza and pandemic influenza from the
Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture and
USAID, amounting to more than $50 million. Lange also noted
the fundamental difference in the Indonesian and U.S.
approaches to benefits (such as pandemic vaccines),which the
U.S. believes should continue to be provided on a voluntary
basis.


4. (C) Supari responded by raising a series of familiar GOI
issues, repeatedly insisting that the GISN is unfair,
inequitable, and non-transparent. Supari said Indonesia had
submitted over fifty H5N1 virus samples to WHO and had no
further information on how they had been used. She said some
of the viruses were now at the Los Alamos National
Laboratories, although she did not provide the source of this
information. (Note: this is presumably the basis for her
assertion in her Nov. 20 speech to the PIP-IGM that shared
viruses "may be utilized for the development of biological
weapons.")


5. (SBU) Responding to the Minister's concerns about
non-transparency, Lange outlined the U.S. proposal for an
electronic tracking system, managed by WHO, that would
provide constantly updated information to users as virus
samples flow through the WHO system. Supari, apologizing if
her words made the U.S. uncomfortable, said the U.S. may have
technical expertise, but if "you don't have viruses from us,
you have nothing." Lange also noted the efforts by the WHO
Collaborating Center at HHS/CDC Atlanta to return materials
as requested by Indonesia.


6. (SBU) Lange, recognizing the contributions of Indonesia
and other developing countries, reiterated the U.S.
commitment to providing benefits to affected countries,
noting the U.S. contribution to the WHO Global Action Plan to
Increase Vaccine Supply, which provided funds to Indonesia
and other developing countries for vaccine production
capacity building. Lange also noted the U.S.-supported
antivirals stockpile located in Asia as a contribution



intended for containment of an incipient pandemic.


7. (SBU) Thanking Lange for the charity and good-will of
donor countries, Supari described Indonesia's "bad
experience" with the smallpox virus, noting that when
smallpox was eradicated WHO had destroyed Indonesia's supply
of the virus. Now, Supari said, Indonesia was unable to
produce its own smallpox vaccine and had to buy such vaccine.
She said she didn't want to repeat that experience.
Elaborating on this point, Supari said Indonesia should have
its own WHO Collaborating Center that could produce its own
seed viruses, which it would then provide to manufacturers
through MTAs. The resulting vaccines would be placed in
WHO-managed stockpiles and distributed based on public health
needs.


8. (SBU) Lange responded that part of the U.S. assistance to
Indonesia was to strengthen Indonesia's laboratory capacity
and train Indonesian scientists. But this took time and it
was necessary to support the current WHO system in the
meantime. Lange asked Supari to resume sample sharing while
negotiations continued. Supari reiterated that would require
MTAs or other mechanisms.


9. (SBU) In closing the meeting, Ambassador Wibisono said
there clearly was a divergence of views, but the dialogue
between Indonesia and the United States should continue. He
expressed appreciation for the frank and open discussion,
noting these issues could not be resolved in one meeting.
Ambassador Lange welcomed Indonesia's willingness to continue
the bilateral discussions and cited Ambassador Hume's
engagement on these issues in Jakarta.


10. (C) COMMENT. Minister Supari's statements during the
one-hour meeting reflected now-familiar themes. Her
insistence on MTAs or other mechanisms to maintain control
over the virus as it passes through GISN has been manifested
in GOI interventions during PIP-IGM plenary discussions and
does not bode well for resolution of this impasse in the near
future. END COMMENT.
TICHENOR