STRENGTHENING THE GOVERNMENT TWO DROPS AT A TIME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002128

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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.

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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