INDONESIA - JUNE 27 AVIAN INFLUENZA (AI) UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001257 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, G/AIAG, L/DL, EAP/EX, AND OES/IHA USAID FOR ANE/CLEMENTS AND GH/CARROLL DEPT ALSO PASS TO HHS/WSTEIGER/MSTLOUIS AND HHS/NIH DEPT ALSO PASS TO DOJ for OFL GENEVA FOR WHO/HOHMAN USDA/FAS/OSTA BRANT, ROSENBLUM USDA/APHIS ANNELLI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO EAGR AMGT PGOV ID KLIG SUBJECT: INDONESIA - JUNE 27 AVIAN INFLUENZA (AI) UPDATE REFTEL: A) Jakarta 1247 B) Jakarta 786 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. On June 25, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) indefinitely postponed the June 26 signing of a Biosecurity Engagement Program (BEP) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),citing current NAMRU-2 politics as the reason for the signing ceremony cancellation. On June 19, the Ministry of Health (MOH) officially notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about two Avian Influenza (AI) cases confirmed in May. Dr. Widjaja Lukito, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Health later told us that the Associated Press (AP) had erroneously released a story about Minister of Health Fadilah Siti Supari refusing to share avian influenza case data as cases occurred. On June 25, the WHO Jakarta Office received a legal summons from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs naming the WHO as a co-defendant with U.S. Government in a case brought by the family of a deceased avian influenza victim. Minister of Health Supari launched a new ASEAN website on emerging infectious diseases (EID) on June 17. The AI independent panel review team completed their three-week review on June 25 and briefed Ambassador Hume. End Summary. -------------- Biosecurity Engagement Program MOU postponed -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On June 25, DEPLU informed us that the June 26 signing ceremony for a BEP MOU would be indefinitely postponed due to heated debates in the press and legislature regarding NAMRU-2 (See Reftel A). The MOU is an umbrella agreement between the United States and Indonesia on capacity building to strengthen the security of biological pathogens. DEPLU officials reported that the decision to postpone the signing was made at the highest levels, following a cabinet level meeting involving multiple ministries. Government officials later confided that Minister of Health Supari had demanded that the signing ceremony be stopped and threatened to go public with her opposition (despite her earlier authorization of the MOU process),and that other ministries reluctantly conceded. ¶3. (SBU) On June 26, Desra Percaya, DEPLU Director for International Security and Disarmament expressed regret to Patricia McNerney, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation about the ceremony's sudden postponement. Assistant Secretary McNerney had intended to sign the agreement while in Indonesia. Percaya assured her that DEPLU still stood behind the agreement and would ask Ambassador Hume to sign in a quiet meeting, following a sufficient cooling off period. -------------- MOH Shares Data, Claims Misunderstanding -------------- ¶4. (SBU) On June 19, the MOH officially notified the WHO about two confirmed Avian Influenza (AI) cases confirmed in May. These included a 16 year-old female from South Jakarta who died in May and a 34 year-old female from Tangerang who died in early June. Dr. Lukito Widjaja told us on June 22 the AP erroneously reported that the Minister stopping sharing AI case information and that the Ministry had been unofficially sharing information with the WHO. He claimed she never intended to violate International Health Regulations (IHR) which requires notification of new avian influenza cases within 24 hours and that the press had unfortunately confused the facts. Widjaja's comments came after the Jakarta Post published a highly critical op-ed piece on June 20, describing the shortcomings of current MOH practices in both reporting and handling avian influenza cases. As of June 26, Indonesia reports 135 cases of avain influenza, with 110 deaths. -------------- WHO Local Office Receives Court Summons -------------- ¶5. (SBU) On June 25, the WHO Jakarta Office received a legal summons from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs naming the WHO and the U.S. Government as defendants in a case brought by the family of an avian influenza victim. (This is the same case that the Embassy had received a summons for on April 16. See Reftel B.) The suit rests on JAKARTA 00001257 002 OF 002 the claims made by Minister of Health Supari that the USG may be behind the development of a bio-terrorism weapon derived from AI samples. The summons lists a mid September court date. Embassy Jakarta has not received similar notification for this court date. -------------- Supari Launches ASEAN EID Website -------------- ¶6. (U) Minister Supari gave a welcoming speech at the June 17 launch of a website for ASEAN Plus 3 countries (includes all ASEAN countries plus China, S. Korea, and Japan) to exchange infectious disease surveillance information. The Indonesian MOH will maintain the web site, with AusAid funding. '"Multilateral coordination which is mutually beneficial should be developed and maintained so it can continue, including through information exchange among nations," Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.' The web site links to a document describing the information sharing protocol between the participating countries. Although AI is not specifically listed, "human influenza caused by a new subtype" is posted as one of nine reportable diseases, under a sub-heading of diseases/events that fall under the International Health Regulations from the WHO. -------------- AI Review Team Completes Review -------------- ¶7. (SBU) On June 25, the AI independent evaluation panel reviewing USG activities in Indonesia to control avian influenza, presented draft recommendations to Ambassador Hume. Recommendations fell into four basic categories, general recommendations, and recommendations for animal disease control, human health and social mobilization and behavioral change communication. The nine member team completed a three-week extensive evaluation of USG programs and visited numerous government veterinary and public health institutions, private health facilities, universities, community programs, laboratories, other donor and international organizations, toured wet markets, small commercial poultry farms, poultry slaughterhouses and poultry vaccine manufacturers. The evaluation team departed Indonesia on June 26 and will provide a draft report by June 28. HUME