SAUDI DEPUTY HEALTH MINISTER CALLS FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 000104 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, OES, AND OSTP DEPT PASS TO CDC FOR STEPHEN BLOUNT AND SCOTT MCNABB DEPT PASS TO NIH FOR JUDY LEVIN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON TBIO SENV PREL SA SUBJECT: SAUDI DEPUTY HEALTH MINISTER CALLS FOR SCHOLARSHIPS, JOINT RESEARCH, AND TRAINING REF: A. RIYADH 1045 ¶B. RIYADH 1417 ¶1. (SBU) This is an action request. See paragraphs three and six. Summary -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Deputy Minister of Health Ziad Memish told Econoffs that the Ministry's top two health cooperation priorities with the U.S. are to finalize an MOU with HHS and to increase significantly the number of scholarships with U.S. universities. Minister of Health Al-Rabeeah is planning to visit Washington May 26 and would like to sign the HHS MOU at that time. Memish outlined specific areas for collaboration under an MOU and said the MOH is very interested in cooperation with the NIH on child and maternal health. He also elaborated on the Ministry's health sector reform plans, to include a significant modernization and expansion of facilities. Specific areas of cooperation for HHS MOU -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Memish told Econoffs December 19 that Minister of Health Al-Rabeeah is planning a visit to Washington May 26 and has asked to hold a formal signing ceremony with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius during his visit. Post requests NEA's assistance reaching out to HHS regarding the dates of the proposed signing and Ministerial visit. ¶4. (SBU) Asked about specific areas of collaboration for an MOU with HHS, Memish said his Ministry was interested in continued exchanges of health experts and consultants, building on existing exchanges with CDC and NIH. He also said his Ministry needs training assistance in the areas of malaria, TB, HIV, and sexually transmitted disease prevention. Memish said the MOH would like the MOU to facilitate joint research in preventive medicine, specifically with NIH. The Gulf Cooperation Council Health Ministers recently mandated its member countries to set up an occupational safety and health departments, and Saudi Arabia would like U.S. OSHA experts to advise them as they build the department "from scratch," he said. The MOH is developing a scientific journal with Elsevier Publishing and will be reaching out to U.S. health experts and officials to sit on the advisory panel. Memish noted the MOH has enough funding for projects and is only looking for U.S. expertise and guidance. Memish was also interested in discussing possibilities of collaboration on research grants. Cooperation on child and maternal health -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Asked about collaboration on maternal health and specifically newborn screening, Memish said the MOH was very interested in cooperation with the U.S. on child and maternal health. He noted that the MOH had recently signed a contract for a 30 million SAR (8 million USD) per year program for newborn screening. The program will collect samples from 140 clinics in the Kingdom for analysis at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh. Asked about the 2011 MENA regional Newborn Screening Conference, Memish said Saudi Arabia would "be happy to host" the meeting. Memish elaborated on the Kingdom's child and maternal initiatives, including a Royal Decree which mandates all engaged couples be tested for sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C before marriage. The Kingdom has tested 750,000 people to date, at an average of 250,000 people per year. This information is forwarded to the Ministry of Justice. Scholarship programs -------------- ¶6. (SBU) As Ambassador Smith discussed with Minister Rabeeah in October (ref B),the Saudis are very interested in increasing the number of Saudi students at U.S. institutions at all levels of healthcare. Econcouns asked Memish to provide a list of the Ministry's top five priority training areas. Post will circulate the list once received and requests HHS assistance in identifying universities and programs to address Saudi health priorities. Saudi health sector reform RIYADH 00000104 002 OF 002 -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Asked about Saudi Arabia's health sector reform, Memish said Minister Rabeeah submitted a health reform proposal to King Abdullah for consideration during Ramadan (September). The reform plan proposes restructuring the MOH organization chart to include two vice ministers and four deputy ministers. The MOH will also close small hospitals with less than 100 beds and open specialist centers in each region which will be connected to larger, 200 plus bed facilities and small primary care centers. The restructuring will require a "tremendous" budget expansion, but the Minister has received verbal approval from King Abdullah and is confident their proposal will be supported, Memish said. The Ministry is in the processing of moving into brand new office space, which Econoffs noted was a significant improvement over the old Ministry buildings. Memish noted partnerships with Harvard and Johns Hopkins Universities are intended to support the "big leap" the Saudis are taking to rapidly modernize their healthcare system. The Minister is working to open a "mass gathering research center" (likely to focus on Hajj-related health issues) in Jeddah at King Abdullah Medical City by August 2010, before the 2010 Hajj. Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The MOH's proposals for health cooperation under an HHS MOU dovetail with President Obama's call for increased science, technology, and health cooperation, and would benefit greatly from the support of the region's new science envoy, Dr. Elias Zerhouni. The USG should capitalize on this opportunity and expand cooperation in the areas Memish outlined. Post recommends Envoy Zerhouni's visit to Saudi Arabia in February include a health component. SMITH