INDONESIA - AUGUST 10 AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002182 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, G/AIAG AND OES USAID FOR ANE/CLEMENTS AND GH/CARROLL DEPT ALSO PASS TO HHS/WSTEIGER/MSTLOUIS AND HHS/NIH GENEVA FOR WHO/HOHMAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO AMED CASC EAGR AMGT PGOV ID SUBJECT: INDONESIA - AUGUST 10 AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE REF: A) Jakarta 1492 B) Jakarta 1331 and previous ¶1. (SBU) Summary. An Avian Influenza Action Group (AIAG) funded Avian Influenza (AI) documentary aired on Indonesian television on July 14. The CDC acquired draft quarterly reports from NIHRD covering the past three fiscal quarters. A new CDC senior medical epidemiologist arrived at post on August 1. The Indonesian National Committee for Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (KOMNAS) hosted a meeting on August 6-7 to develop a new national pandemic preparedness plan. The KOMNAS is planning a high-level meeting on September 11-13 to map GOI and donor funds and programs for AI control in Indonesia. The Department of Defense (DOD) conducted training on influenza rapid response and pandemic preparedness for the Indonesian military on July 16. The Indonesian Ministry of Health (MOH) reports that it would like to conduct a field containment exercise in September. The MOH has reported two new H5N1 infections with one fatality since last reftel. End Summary. AI DOCUMENTARY AIRS ON METRO TV -------------- 2.(U) An AIAG-funded documentary aired on Indonesia's only all news channel, Metro TV, on July 14. The documentary, coordinated by PAS Jakarta, reported on best practices to combat AI in Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. The purpose of the program was to promote public awareness of the dangers of AI and to share best practices from other affected countries. Metro TV plans to air the documentary again on August 11 and estimates that about 700,000 viewers will watch. NEW CDC STAFF MEMBER ARRIVES AT POST -------------- ¶3. (U) Dr. Frank Mahoney, a new senior medical epidemiologist from CDC, arrived at post on August 1. Dr. Mahoney will work with Dr. Thomas and the Director of the Indonesian CDC. CDC MEETS WITH NIHRD STAFF -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Dr. Mike Thomas of the CDC met with officials from NIHRD to help write their CDC grant renewal proposal. During the meeting, CDC acquired draft quarterly reports from NIHRD covering the past three fiscal quarters. This marks the first time CDC has received an update from NIHRD this fiscal year. GOI AND PARTNERS DEVELOP PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS PLAN -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) USAID's Community Based Avian Influenza Control (CBAIC) Program sponsored a GOI-hosted meeting in Bogor on August 6-7 to develop a new national pandemic preparedness plan for a global influenza pandemic. The meeting covered issues such as surveillance and detection, isolation and quarantine, public health and treatment, business and critical-infrastructure continuity, and national recovery and rehabilitation. KOMNAS estimates the rollout of the new pandemic preparedness plan to be in early 2008, with a detailed outline completed in time for the September 11-13 funding meeting (see paragraph 5). The plan will build on the 2005 Indonesian National Strategic Plan for Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, as well as strategies developed by government ministries, the police and military. Meeting participants included several GOI ministries, the military, the police, local government officials, private sector representatives, and international representatives, including WHO, USAID, USDA, US CDC, AusAID, and ASEAN. KOMNAS PLANS MEETING TO MAP AI FUNDING -------------- ¶6. (SBU) KOMNAS is planning a high-level meeting to map GOI and donor funds and programs for AI control in Indonesia and to influence the GOI's 2008 budget process. KOMNAS has tentatively scheduled the meeting for September 11-13, 2007. The meeting will take stock of where Indonesia is one year after a similar meeting that David Nabarro of the UN attended. ¶7. (SBU) The 2006 meeting was the first effort to map GOI and donor resources and to reevaluate the GOI National Strategy. The 2006 meeting resulted in the GOI prioritizing three components of their JAKARTA 00002182 002 OF 002 national strategy: 1) behavior change communications and risk communications, 2) integrated animal and human surveillance, and 3) control of AI in animals. Results of the 2006 mapping exercise revealed a mismatch between GOI strategic priorities with both GOI and donor resource commitments, with roughly 70 percent of funds directed toward human health and the MOH while the strategic priority is control in animals. ¶8. (SBU) The intent of the 2007 meeting is to help influence GOI budget decisions through a reexamination of funding distribution and progress made to-date in filling key gaps identified in 2006. KOMNAS is fully engaging GOI ministries and donors in planning for this meeting. On July 18, KOMNAS hosted a donor planning meeting attend by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),World Health Organization (WHO),World Bank, USAID, Government of Japan, the German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ),UN Development Program (UNDP),and the Community Based Avian Influenza (CBAIC) project (USAID contract). KOMNAS has already begun collecting budget and program detail from donors and GOI ministries and will intensify this effort during the next few weeks. DOD DELIVERS TRAINING TO INDONESIAN MILITARY -------------- ¶9. (U) On July 16, the Department of Defense (DOD) conducted training on influenza rapid response and pandemic preparedness. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) sponsored the session. Over 40 students from the Indonesian Armed Forces attended. The MOH facilitated the session, and the UN and WHO participated. MOH PLANS FIELD CONTAINMENT EXERCISE -------------- ¶10. (SBU) During the DOD training, MOH officials indicated that the MOH has invited the Indonesian military to assist with developing their Emergency Response Plan in conjunction with the Indonesian Disaster Management Group. MOH contacts also stated that they would like to conduct a field containment exercise near Jakarta in early September. The MOH is pushing to conduct the exercise this fiscal year. The MOH has asked for samples of other field containment exercises to use as a template. AI HUMAN CASE REPORTS -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The MOH reported two new human AI infections since last reftel. A 3-year-old girl from Riau Province developed symptoms on June 18. She has since recovered. Investigations indicate that the cause of her infection was exposure to sick and dead poultry. A six-year-old girl from Banten Province died on July 8. Verification of the infections has not been determined at either NAMRU-2 or a laboratory outside of NIHRD. As of August 10, the MOH reports 102 human cases and 81 fatalities. HUME