VZCZCXRO7752
OO RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #0558/01 0690606
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 100606Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4846
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
RHFMISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHRO/US MISSION UN ROME 0060
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC//USDP/ASD-HD//
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000558 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR OES NANCY POWELL 
USDA FOR FAS/OA, FAS/DLP, FAS/ICD AND FAS/ITP 
USDA ALSO FOR APHIS 
USAID REGIONAL HUB OFFICE ACCRA 
CHERYL FRENCH APHIS DAKAR 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y (TEXT - PARAGRAPH MARKINGS 2 -6) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO KFLU EAID AMED EAGR NI
SUBJECT: MARCH 9 NIGERIA AVIAN FLU UPDATE 
 
REF:  ABUJA 552 
 
ABUJA 00000558  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
///////CORRECTED COPY (PARAGRAPHS 2 THROUGH 6 NOT MARKED)///// 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  The GON announced March 9 that an 
additional state, Ogun State, was confirmed positive for the 
H5 virus.  This result was confirmed by the Vom National 
Veterinary Research Institute, near Jos.  Officials said the 
government had paid no additional compensation to poultry 
farmers since 47 farmers in Kano State received money on 
March 6.  Poultry sales in Nigeria have plummeted 85 percent 
since AI was detected one month ago.  The poultry 
association said this decline in chicken sales has cost 
Nigerian poultry farmers about USD 233 million so far.  The 
poultry association warned that unless the government 
offered longer-term assistance to farmers for restocking 
their farms, Nigeria's poultry sector risked a complete 
collapse.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Centers for Disease Control officials attended on March 9 
in Abuja the Government of Nigeria's (GON) Steering 
Committee meeting on avian influenza (AI).  GON officials 
announced that an additional state, Ogun State, was 
confirmed positive for having the H5 virus.  This result was 
confirmed by the Vom National Veterinary Research Institute, 
near Jos.  The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 
laboratory in Rome is testing additional samples from Ogun 
State.  Ogun State is the center of commercial poultry 
production in Nigeria.  GON officials said there are highly 
suspicious and very large die-offs of birds in Niger and 
Adamawa States.  They ordered technical staff to investigate 
these bird deaths and confirm or deny AI as the cause. 
 
¶3. (SBU) GON officials said the government had paid no additional 
compensation to poultry farmers since 47 farmers in Kano 
State received money on March 6.  Officials said the World 
Bank signed on March 8 an accord that will provide almost 
USD 60 million to combat AI.  Of this total, USD 30.7 
million will go toward animal health, USD 21.3 million to 
human health, USD 4.05 million to social mobilization, and 
USD 2.83 million for contingency purposes.  GON officials 
noted that state ministers of information met in Abuja on 
March 9 to be "sensitized" on the issue of AI. 
 
International donors help address some needs 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) At a March 7 UN Development Program (UNDP) donors meeting 
in Abuja, a USAID official noted that USAID is working with 
the GON to implement a program for eradication in outbreak 
areas where culling is needed.  USAID is providing 
assistance in the provision of commodities to assist in the 
isolation and control, culling, decontamination, and proper 
disposal of culled birds.  In collaboration with the French 
Embassy and PACE, the Pan-African Control of Epizootics, an 
EU-funded organization embedded in the Ministry of 
Agriculture (MOA), USAID is sponsoring technical training 
for MOA animal-health technicians, International Fund for 
Agricultural Development staff, and the FAO in 
identification, containment, culling, decontamination, and 
disposal techniques.  This training will be held in Ibadan 
for southern Nigerian staff and in Minna for their northern 
Nigerian counterparts. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The UNDP reported that the World Bank has approved the 
reallocation of USD 3 million in existing funds to combat AI 
through state-level health programs.  The UNDP summarized 
its initial matrix of AI contributions and concluded: 
Donations for the Ministry of Health's short-term needs (to 
December 2006) are well covered for surveillance and 
outbreak investigations.  There are still, however, gaps in 
funding for case management (Tamiflu), prevention (flu 
vaccine), data management, vehicles, and laboratory support. 
The MOA's initial needs, meanwhile, have received very 
little commitment or input apart from World Bank funds. 
 
Poultry sales plummet 85% in one month 
-------------------------------------- 
 
ABUJA 00000558  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Poultry sales in the country have plummeted 85 percent 
since AI was detected one month ago in Nigeria, the 
president of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) told 
Reuters on March 8.  PAN chief Olatunde Badmus said this 
figure was based on a survey of the association's members. 
He said Nigerian poultry farms were going out of business 
rapidly, and that farmers were destroying eggs as well as 
chickens that were not diseased because they could not sell 
these.  The PAN estimated that this decline in chicken sales 
has cost Nigeria's poultry farmers at least 30 billion naira 
(about USD 233 million) so far.  Badmus additionally 
cautioned that while poultry farmers welcomed the 
government's initial payment of compensation on March 6, 
this money was not sufficient to persuade affected farmers 
to reenter the poultry business.  He warned that unless the 
government offered longer-term assistance to farmers for 
restocking their farms, Nigeria's poultry sector risked a 
complete collapse. 
CAMPBELL