This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS ROME 000925 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR IO/EDA, EUR/SE, EUR/WE, NEA/ENA, EA/SEA, OES/IHA 
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA GGOTTLIEB, PMORRIS; GH/KHILL, DCARROLL 
AND BZINNER; AFR/MHARVEY, ALOZANO; EGAT A/AA JSMITH; 
ANE/ACLEMENTS, K/CRAWFORD; EGAT/AG JYAZMAN AND JTHOMAS 
USDA FOR OSEC STUMP/PENN/LAMBERT/CAINE, 
FAS PETTRIE/HUGHES/CLERKIN, APHIS CLIFFORD/HOFFMAN 
DAKAR FOR USAID/OFDA/RDAVIS AND JSCICCHITANO 
ACCRA FOR USAID/WARP HBOTTEMBERG; KCOONEY 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH/USAID 
HHS FOR OGHA (STEIGER) 
BRUSSELS FOR USAID/PLERNER AND APHIS/PFERNANDEZ 
PARIS FOR GCARNER 
USEUCOM FOR ECJ4 
VIENNA PASS APHIS 
CAIRO PASS APHIS 
 
 
FROM THE U.S. MISSION TO THE UN AGENCIES IN ROME 
 
E.O.  12958:  N/A 
TAGS: KFLU EAGR EAID CASC SENV SOCI TBIO FAO WHO AVIAN INFLUENZA
SUBJECT:  AVIAN INFLUENZA:  WEEKLY UPDATE ON FAO ACTIVITIES 
#3 FOR THE WEEK ENDING MARCH 24, 2006 
 
REF: (A) 05 ROME 3949; (B) 05 ROME 3320; (C) 05 ROME 2979; 
 
(D) 05 ROME 1142; (E) 05 ROME 3976; (F) 06 ROME 0087; (G) 06 
ROME 0000 (sic); (H) 06 UN ROME 0315; (I) 06 UN ROME 0430; 
(J) 06 UN ROME 0464; (K) 06 UN ROME 0626; (L) UN ROME 0678; 
(M) 06 UN ROME 0766; (N) 06 UN ROME 0860 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Three FAO documents were shared with USMISSIN 
UN ROME this week: 
 
-- Following meetings earlier this month with several 
donors, FAO and OIE (the World Organization for Animal 
Health) released on March 17 the jointly prepared proposal 
to strengthen response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza 
(HPAI) through a crisis management center. 
 
-- A member of FAO's Animal Production and Health Division 
(AGA) shared his Back-to-Office (BTO) report on a mission to 
Cambodia to give a presentation at a USDA-funded workshop. 
 
-- A member of FAO's Emergency Operations and Rehabilitation 
Division (TCE) shared his BTO report on a mission to Nigeria 
to establish an emergency country unit, prepare country 
project proposals, and meet with donors, including USAID. 
End Summary 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
FAO/OIE Proposal for an HPAI Crisis Management Center 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶2.  At the initiative of the United States, FAO and OIE held 
meetings earlier this month in Rome with several donors, 
including the United States, the European Community, the 
Netherlands, Canada, France, Germany and Switzerland, on the 
need to develop a crisis management center to respond to 
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)(reftel L?).   An 
outcome of these meetings was the release on March 17 of the 
jointly prepared FAO and OIE (the World Organization for 
Animal Health) proposal entitled, "Strengthening the FAO 
Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases 
Operations (ECTAD) through the FAO/OIE Crisis Management 
Centre for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and other 
Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs)."  The center aims to 
support concerted international efforts to contain and 
control of HPAI whose continued spread from Asia to Europe 
to Africa indicates that current containment measures are 
not sufficient, especially in developing countries that have 
less than adequate veterinary service infrastructures. 
 
¶3. The center will operate under the FAO/OIE agreed Global 
Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary 
Animal Diseases (GF-TADs), which includes the tripartite 
partnership between FAO, OIE and WHO for the establishment 
of a Global Early Warning and Response System (GLEWS) for 
major transboundary animal diseases and zoonoses.  It will 
be based at FAO headquarters in Rome and will consist of: 
 
¶A. an HPAI crisis monitoring center that will be operated 
continually and assemble, analyze and communicate relevant 
disease data and early warning messages (GLEWS element); 
 
¶B. an operational facility to assemble and deploy rapidly 
specialized, professional, international multidisciplinary 
teams (International Rapid Assessment Teams and 
International Rapid Response Teams), that will offer 
immediate assistance to countries in designing counter- 
epizootic measures to curb outbreaks; improving 
surveillance, detection and control; and in meeting 
reporting obligations to OIE.  All actions will be guided by 
the established guidelines and strategies developed by 
FAO/OIE and by the relevant international animal health 
standards established by the OIE. 
 
¶C. a coordination facility that will act as a clearing-house 
for bilateral and multilateral country support to synergize 
global efforts.  The international response capabilities to 
country demands for rehabilitation and restructuring of the 
veterinary and poultry production systems will be improved 
through the deployment of assessment teams that determine 
short-, mid- and long-term comprehensive requirements for 
investment.  Assessments will also cover economic, social 
and environmental implications of the disease. 
 
¶D. a dedicated space (estimated at 500 square meters) in 
close association with ECTAD, composed of staff from AGA and 
TCE for improved interaction between technical and 
operational aspects of HPAI intervention (i.e., viral 
spread/mitigation and real-time disease appraisal; 
staff/team deployment and management; inter-institutional 
coordination); and 
 
¶E. encompasses a Command System including training modules, 
publications/communications management, procedures for 
qualification and certification, and supporting technology, 
particularly ICT, with corresponding human support. 
 
¶3.  The overall cost is estimated at $10,380,000 for the 
center's inception, with yearly follow-up costs of 
$7,300,000.  Donors have been asked to provide feedback on 
the proposal by March 24.  Thus far, the Netherlands has 
responded, praising FAO and OIE for an outstanding document, 
noting it will be of great value to the control of HPAI 
worldwide and making good use of existing structures.  The 
Netherlands has also requested that the proposal include a 
budget for consultancy fees equivalent to the total number 
of consultancy days, and limiting the need for extraordinary 
qualification requirements for experts.  Lastly, the 
Netherlands suggested that qualifications and tailor-made 
terms of reference for personnel and assessments, depending 
on country needs. 
 
¶4.  USMISSION UN ROME has been communicating with AGA and 
TCE to arrange for follow-up meetings during the week of 
April 3 for USDA administrative personnel to settle details 
relating to deploying both short- and long-term staff to FAO 
for this endeavor.  In addition to meeting with AGA and TCE 
staff, meetings are being arranged with FAO Human Resources, 
Procurement and Administration/Finance. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Cambodia BTO:  USDA Avian Influenza and Surveillance 
Workshop 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶5.  Vincent Martin, Rome-based Animal Health Officer, AGA, 
attended the USDA-sponsored Avian Influenza and Surveillance 
Workshop held in Phnom Penh from March 7-10.  The workshop, 
which was attended by 33 nationals from the Cambodian 
National Veterinary Services, representatives from USDA, 
U.S. Geological Survey, FAO, Wildlife Protection Office and 
Wildlife Conservation Society, aimed to introduce, among 
others, the fundamentals of Avian Influenza, review the 
current understanding of wild bird populations in Cambodia 
(their ecology and movement), and identify priorities and 
opportunities to establish a national Avian Influenza 
wildlife surveillance system in Cambodia. 
 
¶6. Martin gave a presentation on the FAO perspective on wild 
bird surveillance, illustrated by recent FAO wild bird 
surveillance activities in Africa.  He suggested that 
similar studies should be implemented in Asia where the 
disease is still endemic and the exact role of wild birds in 
HPAI cycle is still unclear.  Martin also noted that FAO is 
planning to initiate a series of studies, in collaboration 
with the Wildlife Conservation Society, Wetlands 
International and the Free University of Brussels, that 
should contribute to a better understanding of the role 
played by wild birds in the HPAI epidemiological cycle. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Nigeria BTO:  USDA Avian Influenza and Surveillance Workshop 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶7.  Mariano Gosi, TCE Consultant, traveled to Nigeria from 
March 2-13 to a) assist the FAO Representative (FAOR) in 
establishing the Emergency ECTAD Country Unit; and b) work 
with the FAOR and the donor community to prepare a national 
project proposal.  Gosi reported that HPAI control 
operations are being coordinated at the national level by 
the Federal Department of Livestock and Pest Control 
Services (FDLPCS) and at state level by the State 
Departments of Veterinary Services.  Government of Nigeria 
(GoN) operations thus far covered four fields of action: i) 
disease investigation and surveillance; ii) disease 
containment (stamping out and decontamination: about 500,000 
poultry heads had been destroyed in Kano and Nasarawa 
States); iii) compensation to farmers (the GoN commenced 
compensation payments in Kano); and iv) public communication 
and awareness.  Lastly, training of laboratory staff on 
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) techniques in the National 
Veterinary Research Institute in Vom continues. 
 
¶8.  Gosi reported that he met with several donors, including 
USAID/EGAT/Abuja Michael Satin and USAID/EGAT/Washington 
James Yazman to prepare and submit a $1.5 million project 
document, entitled "Technical Assistance to the Government 
of Nigeria for Control and Eradication of Highly Pathogenic 
Avian Influenza in support of Federal Ministry of 
Agriculture and Rural Development."  The 18-month-long 
project aims to increase the capability of veterinarians to 
prevent and control HPAI.  It also includes a behavioral 
change/bio-security component to help transform poultry 
production systems and employ best practices, and a 
community-based participatory rural livestock and poultry 
disease surveillance system that would be integrated into 
the existing epidemiology surveillance network. 
 
¶9.  Gosi also met with representatives from the European 
Union (EU) and Canadian International Development Agency 
(CIDA) to discuss and submit the $450,000 standard project 
proposal module, entitled "Technical Assistance to the 
Government of Nigeria for Control of Highly Pathogenic Avian 
Influenza in One Selected State," which complements the 
federal level proposal. 
 
¶10. USMISSION UN ROME will continue to disseminate widely 
FAO activities to combat and control Avian Influenza. 
 
Hall