1. Acting Minister of Health S. Mohammed Sheriff called
Poloff May 15 to alert Embassy to the Ministry of Health's
issuance of a press release along the lines of the U.S.
objectives at the annual World Health Assembly.
The press release appeared in the May 15 "Inquirer" newspaper.



2. Text of press release follows:

Begin Text.
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare supports U.S.
Government's recommendation for the retention of smallpox
virus stocks and development of community strategy for
pandemic influenza mitigation.
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare strongly supports
the position taken by the United States Government and other
countries to support the continuation of the critical
research with the live smallpox virus (Variola) stocks at the
two official repositories (in the United States and the
Russian Federation) sanctioned by the World Health
Organization (WHO) to enable the critical research potential
to continue and avoid any premature setting of arbitrary date
for the destruction of these vaccine stockpiles.
The Ministry of Health is of the conviction that retention of
these smallpox stocks will be of greater benefit to
developing countries for a better diagnostic tools for new
anti-viral drugs and safer smallpox vaccines for people with
compromised immune systems, such as cancer patients,
recipient of organ transplants and those who are HIV positive.
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare also welcomes
proposal forwarded by the U.S. Government for the development
of a Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation
that would provide domestic planning guidance focused on
several measures other then vaccination and drug treatment
that might be useful during influenza pandemic to reduce its
harm.
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare also expresses
profound gratitude to the U.S. Government for the provision
of $10 (ten) million to the World Health Organization to
expand the development and manufacturing of infrastructure
for Influenza Vaccine in developing countries.
End Text.

Mazel