SAUDI HEALTH MINISTER LAUDS CDC, CALLS FOR BROADER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 001417

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, OES/STC
DEPARTMENT PASS TO HHS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO SENV ECON SCUL PREL SA
SUBJECT: SAUDI HEALTH MINISTER LAUDS CDC, CALLS FOR BROADER
COOPERATION WITH U.S.

REF: RIYADH 1045


1. (SBU) Summary: The Saudi Minister of Health is very
pleased with ongoing cooperation with the U.S. Center for
Disease Control (CDC),which is working on a three-stage
program to protect the health of Hajj visitors and improve
the Kingdom's ability to track and respond to outbreaks of
infection (e.g., H1N1). The Minister hopes that Saudi Arabia
can build on this cooperation to conclude a broader MOU with
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),which will
also help the Kingdom improve its ability to conduct leading
edge medical research. The Minister also put in a strong
pitch for increased medical and administrative training in
the United States, which he said is important in maintaining
political ties. End Summary.

CDC Cooperation:
- - - - - - - - -


2. (SBU) On October 20, Saudi Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah
Al-Rabeeah thanked Ambassador Smith for the strong bilateral
cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to
prepare for the onset of the Hajj and the challenge of
guarding against outbreaks of infectious diseases,
particularly H1N1. There will be two CDC experts in Riyadh,
three in Jeddah, and four more coming as Hajj gets under way.
The minister was particularly appreciative of mobile medical
surveillance systems, which will be piloted in Makkah during
the Hajj and expanded across the country afterward. This
will give the Ministry a much clearer picture of who is
getting infected and what their symptoms are, which will
allow it to make more informed decisions to mitigate the
spread of infectious diseases.


3. (SBU) The CDC project has three phases: to pilot;
fine-tune; and deploy a 21st century disease surveillance
system for use during the Hajj and beyond. For the first
time, the national communication base and hospitals will be
using the same platform, employing cutting-edge technology.
This system will be deployable to other countries, and will
offer bilingual information for doctors.

H1N1:
- - -


4. (SBU) Al-Rabeeah was cautiously optimistic that the
Kingdom was prepared to carry out the Hajj without a serious
outbreak of H1N1. He noted that, in many ways, Ramadan was a
tougher test, as it takes place over a longer period of time
and people tend to concentrate in close proximity for longer
periods of time during evenings, compared to Hajj.
Al-Rabeeah was satisfied with the relatively low outbreak
level during Ramadan (local papers report 47 people
contracted H1N1 during Ramadan). Al-Rabeeah expressed
concern that some developing countries may not have
sufficient capacity to protect their pilgrims. To cope with
this eventuality, Saudi Arabia has assembled a team of its
own specialist doctors, working with CDC units and 45 private
doctors specialized in critical care and infectious diseases.
They have also set up several additional critical care
units, and distributed diagnostic kits and medicines to four
separate labs in Makkah and Jeddah.


5. (SBU) Al-Rabeeah said the Ministry is working to set up a
medical research center in Makkah (King Abdullah Medical
City),which will focus on Hajj-related diseases with the
goal of devising guidelines to prevent future infections, in
part by mapping the sources of various diseases. As an
interim step, the Kingdom has set up regional knowledge
centers that coordinate weekly with the Ministry's
headquarters to monitor health threats. The Ministry is
expanding a system the Minister initially set up in the Saudi
Arabian National Guard.

Research a Priority:
- - - - - - - - - - -


6. (SBU) Al-Rabeeah said the King is particularly keen to
improve U.S.-Saudi health collaboration. In that regard, the
Minister said it was very important to conclude an MOU with
HHS that included cooperation with the NIH and CDC.
Al-Rabeeah is actively seeking research partnerships with
international institutions, which is important in improving
the Kingdom's long-term capacity to manage public health
challenges. The Kingdom is opening more research facilities,
such as the King Abdullah Medical Research Center in Makkah

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and a large laboratory in Riyadh, which will be finished
within a year. Al-Rabeeah stressed the importance of
partnering with U.S. institutions to ensure that Saudi
researchers were adequately trained.


7. (SBU) Saudi Arabia's needs are immense, as the
government is building 117 hospitals and 1,040 primary health
care centers. Al-Rabeeah lamented that Saudi Arabia lacks
sufficient manpower to staff these facilities, both on the
medical and administrative sides. The minister noted that,
30 years ago, most Saudis received training in the United
States. This has atrophied over the years and now more than
300 Saudi doctors are trained in France and Canada each year,
compared to just 9 in the U.S. He noted that there is a
strong link in Saudi Arabia between political and medical
culture, and stressed that he wants as many Saudi health
professionals as possible to get medical and administrative
training in the United States.

Women's Health:
- - - - - - - -


8. (SBU) Al-Rabeeah is dedicating significant time to improve
women's health in Saudi Arabia, particularly on prevention
and early diagnosis of diseases such as breast cancer. He is
placing greater emphasis on primary health centers, ensuring
that they all have child and maternal health units.
Al-Rabeeah noted that he recently appointed the Ministry's
first female Director General, in charge of nursing.

Reform:
- - - -


9. (SBU) Al-Rabeeah noted his ministry has been working hard
over the last six months with Harvard University on a
proposal to reform the Saudi health care system, and he and
his senior deputies recently presented a strategy to the
King. If it is approved, the minister said he will look to
U.S. institutions to help Saudi Arabia realize its ambitious
plans. Medical centers in Detroit and Cleveland have
invited Health Ministry officials to upcoming conferences,
which may lead to partnership agreements. (Note: Delos
Cosgrove, the CEO of Cleveland Clinic, will participate in
the Global Competitiveness Forum in Jeddah, January 23-26.
End note)

Bio Note:
- - - - -


10. (SBU) Al-Rabeeah still maintains his clinical practice,
centered on child and maternal health. He also spends
significant time delivering lectures, including upcoming
events in Germany and Switzerland. He was previously the
Chief Operating Officer at the Saudi Arabian National Guard's
Health Agency, where he focused on instituting programs to
improve health surveillance as a means to prevent the
outbreak of disease among Saudi troops. He speaks fluent
English.
SMITH