STRENGTHENING THE GOVERNMENT TWO DROPS AT A TIME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002128 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/RA, AND SCA/A DEPT PASS FOR AID/ASIA SCAA DEPT PASS TDA FOR STEIN AND GREENI CENTCOM FOR USFOR-A AND CSTC-A NSC FOR JJONES DASD FOR DSEDNEY E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: EINV EFIN ENRG ETRD ECON EAID AF PREL KDRL SUBJECT: STRENGTHENING THE GOVERNMENT TWO DROPS AT A TIME 1)(SBU) SUMMARY: On Sunday, July 26, 2009, at 11:45 a.m., President Hamid Karzai, Minister Sayed Mohammad Amin Fatimie of the Ministry of Public Health, along with U.S., French, and Canadian officials launched the Polio Eradication National Immunization Days (NIDs) in a ceremony at the Presidential Palace. The event was organized to encourage the population to vaccinate their children against a crippling disease and highlights how critical health programming can be in a Counter- Insurgency (COIN) environment. Indeed, the Minister of Health appeared to be quoting from the COIN manual when he noted that Anti-Government Elements (AGEs) hated such programming as it was another much needed and requested service being provided by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA). END SUMMARY. POLIO Q STILL A THREAT IN AFGHANISTAN Background ¶2. (SBU) Once found in 125 countries, Polio is only endemic in four Q Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nigeria. Afghanistan and Pakistan form a single epidemiological block with about 20% of the worldQs cases. Although Polio cases have dropped 99% worldwide since 1988, the same can not be said for Afghanistan. Past progress has been threatened due to the inability to provide vaccinations to children in the security- compromised areas of Southern and Eastern Afghanistan and North West Frontier Province (NWFP)/Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) regions of Pakistan. As of July this year, and just entering the high transmission season for polio, there were thirteen cases of polio in Afghanistan Q eleven cases in Helmand, Kandahar, and Uruzgan in the South and two cases in Nuristan and Kapisa in the East. The polio transmission is more widespread than the numbers indicate as each case actually represents 200-1000 silent infections. ¶3. (SBU) Polio eradication remains a priority for the United States Government (USG) as noted in President ObamaQs June Fourth speech in Cairo. Most Donor funding for polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan goes to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Donors include national governments, Rotary International, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition to having provided over eleven million dollars over the past seven years for the program in Afghanistan, the USG also plays an active role through the provision of technical services. Although the program reaches over seven million children under the age of five each year, hundreds of thousands remain unvaccinated. In addition to the inaccessibility of the conflict areas, success is being further undermined by population movements from unvaccinated areas of Pakistan. Launch Event ¶4. (SBU) In order to increase chances of success for this campaign, the Ministry of Public Health organized the launch event at the Presidential Palace and held planning meetings in Kandahar. In Kandahar, Minister Fatimie and Dr. Najib Mujadidi, the PresidentQs Advisor for Social Affairs, headed a delegation that included representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations ChildrenQs Fund (UNICEF),the Representative of Canada in Kandahar, and USAID. They attended a meeting with governors from the region and the military to mobilize their support for the polio NIDs. In Kabul,President Karzai began the ceremony by giving his only son the requisite two drops of the Polio vaccine for the press. He was followed by the Ambassadors of France and Canada and USAID Deputy Director, Peter Argo, each giving two drops of vaccine to other children while the President held the children. KABUL 00002128 002 OF 002 POLIO ERADICATION Q THE EPITOME OF COIN? ¶5. (SBU) At the Kabul ceremony, both President Karzai and Minister of Public Health Fatimie thanked the Donors for helping the Afghan government meet the basic needs of the population. Minister Fatimie noted several times in the press conference that followed the launch event how the insurgents did not like the program and its success. To be sure, successes such as this are critical for the citizens of Afghanistan active and continued support of their government. Their support of their government is a pillar of COIN as it is essential for depriving an insurgency of its power and appeal. Comment ¶6. (SBU) While Minister Fatimie may not be fully immersed in the principles and terminology behind COIN, he certainly understands the simple cause and effect behind the provision of basic services. In one of the only countries in the world where polio is still endemic it is fairly obvious that a countryQs citizens would support a government that could help rid them of this scourge. ¶7. (SBU) In addition to eradicating polio in their country, the citizens of Afghanistan have also recognized the importance of basic healthcare. A recent survey in Afghanistan by The Asia Foundation found healthcare to be among the areas of concern for citizens at the local level. The survey also noted that 66% found the Afghan government to be doing a good job in the provision of healthcare (and 84% said the same about the provision of basic education.) These figures are somewhat lower in the insecure Southwest, and signal the need for the government to provide better services in this region as well. ¶8. (SBU) With the son of the President as well as the other photogenic childrenQs presence, the launch event could not have been a more touching and symbolic gesture of the Afghan governmentQs commitment to its most vulnerable citizens. EIKENBERRY