SUDAN HEALTH MINISTRY REQUESTS SANCTIONS WAIVER ON CANCER

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000639 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR S/E WILLIAMSON, AF/SPG DEPT FOR EEB/ESC/TFS JOHN MARSHALL KLEIN DEPT PLS PASS USTREASURY FOR OFAC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFPC PGOV PREL EFIN ECON EAID CDC SU SUBJECT: SUDAN HEALTH MINISTRY REQUESTS SANCTIONS WAIVER ON CANCER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT ¶1. (U) This is an action request. See para 5. ¶2. (U) SUMMARY: Post has been contacted by the Sudanese Ministry of Health (via Sudanese Foreign Ministry),in a note dated 4/13/2008, with a request for assistance in permitting importation of radioisotopes and related equipment for cancer therapy. The Director General of the Radiation and Isotopes Center of Khartoum informed the Ministry that the Varian Brachytherapy Services Company refuses to ship these items to Sudan due to U.S. export controls and economic sanctions. Post requests Department's guidance and assistance in seeking the necessary waiver(s) on humanitarian grounds to allow export of these items to Sudan. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (U) The note from the Health Ministry requests Embassy's assistance with facilitating the importation, and in granting the U.S.-based company the necessary license to operate in Sudan, in order that cancer patients in Sudan not be deprived of this life-saving medical treatment. An attached letter to the Minister of Health from Dr. Hussein Mohamed Ahmed, Director of the Radiation and Isotopes Center in Khartoum, explains that the equipment in question is a "Brachytherapy High Dose Rate Machine." He states that "this machine treats cancer patients suffering from cervix cancer, pharynx cancer, breast cancer, nasal pharynx, rectal cancer, bladder cancer and prostate cancer. The lack of this machine means depriving all these patients from treatment, thus, loss of hope in recovery and ending their suffering." ¶4. (U) Accompanying the request is a copy of a March 13, 2008 email from Richard Dillon, identified as "Varian Brachytherapy Service Manager" (tel. +44-1293-601-295; email Richard.Dillon@varian.com) informing that "Varian is a US based company, and further to recent advice from our US Corporate department we have been instructed to check compliance against the current export control policy - which at the current time prohibits Varian personnel from carrying out any business activities in Sudan. Unfortunately this means that we are temporarily unable to ship the radioactive source wires to Sudan, as doing so would contravene these policies. Of course we are constantly monitoring the situation, and will of course re-commence the supply immediately we're given the go-ahead to do so." ¶5. (U) ACTION REQUESTED: Post supports an export license in this case if at all possible for obvious humanitarian and medical reasons. It is our understanding that the U.S. exporter (Varian) must apply to the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for a license to export to Sudan. We request that the Department contact OFAC to ascertain whether Varian has done so. If application has been made, we request that the Department work with OFAC to facilitate its issuance. If Varian has not applied, we request prompt guidance on how to respond to the Health Ministry so as to assist them in facilitating this export. FERNANDEZ