VZCZCXRO5106
RR RUEHAG RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHPG #0192 0531347
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221347Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6990
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0063
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0208

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000192 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/NCE, NEA/I, SA/PAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREL IZ PK EZ
SUBJECT: CZECH MEDICAL AID TO THE MIDDLE EAST: "A SIGNAL TO 
THE REST OF THE WORLD" 
 
REF: PRAGUE 0154 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: U.S. Ambassador Cabaniss, the Iraqi 
Ambassador, and the Pakistani Charge d'Affaires visited Iraqi 
and Pakistani children recuperating in Prague from surgery on 
February 21. The purpose of their visit was to thank the 
Czech government for its "medevac" program, which brings 
critically ill Iraqi and Pakistani children to the Czech 
Republic for free medical care. In 2005, the Czechs spent 
over USD 1 million o the medevac program and a new cardiac 
center inIraq, in addition to other humanitarian aid 
provded to Iraq and Pakistan (reftel). End Summary. 
 
. (U) On February 21, Ambassador Cabaniss paid a godwill 
visit to fifteen Iraqi and Pakistani chilren recovering from 
surgery provided free of charge by the Czech governmen. The 
purpose of the U.S. Embassy-organized visi to the Olivova 
Detska Lecebna Hospital outside f Praguewas to express U.S. 
gratitude for Czechmedical aid to Iraq and Pakistan. 
Ambassador Cabaiss was joined by Ambassador Dhia Al Dabbas, 
theAmbassador of Iraq, and Malik Mohammed Farook, theCharge 
d'Affaires of the Embassy of Pakistan (loated in Warsaw). 
 
¶3. (U) Czech representatives icluded Tomas Haisman, Director 
of the Czech Minisry of Interior's Department of Asylum and 
Migraton Policies; Dr. Ludwig, Director of Motol Hospita 
(where the surgeries are performed); Dr. Nasdunak, Director 
of Olivova Detska Lecebn Hospital (where the children 
recuperate); and some of the doctors who provided surgery. 
 
¶4. (U) Ambassador Cabaniss thanked Czech MOI officials and 
Czech doctors for holding out a hand to the needy, which he 
described as "a signal to the rest of the world." Charge 
Farook thanked the U.S. Embassy for arranging the event, and 
thanked the USG and GOCR for their humanitarian and medical 
aid to Pakistan following the earthquake. 
 
¶5. (U) The Czech MOI funds the medevac program, which is a 
partnership between the Czech Army and the MOI. The program 
was created in 1999 to provide medical aid to children in 
Kosovo, and was expanded in 2003 to include Iraq. Czech 
military doctors travel from Prague to Basra to identify 
children with terminal congenital heart disease. The Czechs 
bring the children and family members to Prague, and then 
provide surgery, legal assistance, and material support 
(e.g., housing, meals, social programs, toys, clothing, etc.) 
for approximately three months. When the children have 
recovered, they are returned to their homes in Iraq. Since 
2003, the Czechs have treated a total of 38 Iraqi children 
(12 children in 2005). 
 
¶6. (SBU) To supplement the effectiveness of the medevac 
program, the Czechs established a pediatric cardiac center at 
an existing hospital in Basra in 2005-6. The MFA funded the 
training of four Iraqi doctors in Prague and the purchase of 
diagnostic equipment for the center. A Czech delegation will 
travel to Iraq in March 2006 to formally open the center. The 
date has not been announced for security reasons. 
 
¶7. (U) The Czechs expanded the Medevac program to Pakistan 
following the earthquake in 2005. There, Czech military 
doctors have already identified nine children in 
earthquake-affected regions who required medical care 
unavailable in Pakistan. (Note: due to the difficulty of 
accessing earthquake-affected regions, the MOI would welcome 
referrals from the USG to children in Pakistan in critical 
need of medical care.) The Czechs brought the children to the 
Czech Republic and provided surgery to correct improperly 
performed amputations, and cleft palates. The Czechs have 
also provided legal assistance and material support to the 
children and their family members. The MOI plans to provide 
additional medical assistance to Pakistan in 2006. 
 
¶8. (U) In 2005 alone, the Czechs spent over USD 1 million on 
the medevac program and the pediatric center: USD 202,000 for 
the Iraq aid, USD 406,000 for the Pakistan aid, and USD 
487,000 for the pediatric center. The MOI plans to request a 
budget of up to USD 600,000 for the Medivac program in 2006, 
which include aid for Iraq and Pakistan. 
 
¶9. (U)  Several Czech publications covered the visit, 
resulting in an article in the largest circulation Czech 
Daily (Mlada Fronta Dnes) with a photograph of Ambassador 
Cabaniss meeting with an Iraqi mother and child. The 
Ambassador previously visited another group of Iraqi children 
in December 2005, which also resulted in press coverage. 
CABANISS