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

UNCLAS ROME 00626 
 
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; EGAT/AG JYAZMAN AND JTHOMAS 
USDA FOR OSEC STUMP/PENN/LAMBERT/CAINE, 
FAS PETTRIE/HUGHES/CLERKIN, APHIS CLIFFORD/HOFFMAN 
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 BG BM CB EG ID KE LA ML NI VM FAO WHO AVIAN INFLUENZA
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: FAO DISCUSSIONS ON INCIDENT 
MANAGEMENT TEAMS AND INSTITUTIONAL CONSTRAINTS 
 
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 UNROME 0315; (I) 06 UNROME 
0430 
 
¶1.  Summary:  In discussions over the past week, FAO Senior 
Veterinary Officer Juan Lubroth and Senior Operations 
Officer Cristina Amaral updated us on FAO activities to 
combat Avian Influenza (AI).  FAO senior management is 
acting to remove management constraints by: a) instituting 
a special waiver to expedite the recruitment of 
international staff to work on AI activities worldwide, and 
b) elevating the status of the Emergency Centre for 
Transboundary Animal Disease Operations (ECTAD) to work as 
an operational management center.  Our discussions also 
garnered FAO receptiveness to USG plans to establish 
incident management teams (IMTs).  This is an action 
message.  See paras 4 and 12.  End Summary. 
 
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Institutional Constraints Resolved 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  Responding to earlier concerns that FAO management 
reforms were limiting the availability of badly needed 
human resources within FAO's Animal Production and Health 
Division (AGA), Juan Lubroth, FAO Senior Veterinary 
Officer/Infectious Diseases, and Cristina Amaral, FAO 
Senior Operations Officer, Emergency Operations and 
Rehabilitation Division (TCE), told us on February 28 that 
Director-General Diouf has issued an internal note 
eliminating potential institutional constraints.  The note 
establishes a special status for an Emergency Centre for 
Transboundary Animal Disease Operations (ECTAD) that will 
also serve as an internal operations management center, and 
institutes a waiver for the expedited recruitment of AI 
technical staff and consultants, particularly retirees.  We 
have also learned that FAO is currently recruiting for 
seven regional positions and five country positions under 
this mechanism. 
 
¶3.  The seven regional positions will include three persons 
who will form part of FAO's HQ-based rapid response team to 
be deployed to the field as outbreaks occur.  The remaining 
regional positions will be placed in Bamako at a 
decentralized regional ECTAD office to cover West Africa, 
and in Cairo, Nairobi, and Dhaka.  [Note: Amaral reported 
that, due to heightened concerns, a consultant will travel 
soon to Bangladesh to work on a plan of action with the 
government for a few weeks. End Note]  Of the five country 
positions, the recruitment process for which is nearly 
complete, one will be a central coordinator located at HQ 
while the others will be posted to each of the four endemic 
countries of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia.  We 
will provide more information, but believe that previously 
reported management constraints will not impede the FAO 
from carrying out its duties to control AI. 
 
¶4.  Action Request:  USMISSION UN ROME suggests that 
talking points for Cabinet-level calls to Secretary General 
Annan and Director General Diouf should include the 
positive message that the removal of any management 
constraints that allows FAO the flexibility to mobilize and 
use resources, especially personnel resources, is welcome. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Emergency Management/Incident Management Teams 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶5.  Lubroth also noted he had previously discussed with 
Peter Fernandez, APHIS/Brussels, the requirements and 
logistics for making a USDA person available to FAO for 
coordination of emergency activities, particularly the 
development of Incident Management Teams (IMT).  One 
possibility discussed would be to post the person to 
USMISSION UN ROME with the understanding that he/she would 
be physically working at FAO and reporting to Lubroth. 
Lubroth has already forwarded to Fernandez a copy of the 
FAO personal history form used to classify international 
experience, languages and activity-coordination background 
of possible candidates.  FAO has been urging the United 
States and other countries to make experts available at 
headquarters and in the field.  FAO would ideally like to 
have an American to organize the IMTs in Rome.  Lubroth 
emphasized that the problem at this point is not money, but 
bodies. 
 
¶6.  FAO is generally receptive to the concept of IMTs. 
Lubroth sees the IMTs as virtual teams composed of 2-5 
members with experience in virology, epidemiology and 
communications, depending on the circumstances, who are 
ready for deployment within 24 hours with an emergency kit 
and passport in hand.  Teams could be used for both initial 
assessments and emergency response coordination. 
Logistical support, including transportation, visas, 
coordination with local governments, etc., would be handled 
by FAO, as would field debriefings with FAO Regional 
Representatives and OIE delegations where appropriate.  If 
FAO were to be the lead on the IMTs, there would be an 
understanding among all players that the IMTs form part of 
an international mission led by FAO/OIE.   Lastly, during 
times of relative calm, Lubroth could see FAO deploying 
these teams to countries to assess other diseases such as 
Nipah virus and Rift Valley fever. 
 
¶8.  Lubroth stressed that, for international evaluations, 
the IMTs would need to use an improved version of the OIE 
assessment tool.  In his view, the OIE tool, which is 
currently being used by national veterinary services 
worldwide, is appropriate for auto-evaluations, but is not 
sufficient for international evaluations.  FAO has done 
some in-depth work on behalf of the World Bank to improve 
veterinary assessments internationally and plans to marry 
the national OIE model with its efforts in this field. 
 
¶9.  Lubroth also floated a complementary concept to emulate 
the WHO Global Outbreak Alert Response Network (GOARN), of 
which FAO is a member.  GOARN is a network of institutions, 
such as universities or NGOs, which are called upon to 
field 3-4 experts during a public health outbreak or 
emergency.   Lubroth believes it would be useful to 
establish a GOARN-like structure specifically for trans- 
boundary animal diseases. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
International Experts 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  During a February 16 meeting with David Nabarro, UN 
Special Coordinator for AI, AGA stated that one of their 
immediate needs is to establish a roster of 20 
veterinarians for worldwide deployment to teach culling and 
environmentally safe disposal techniques.  FAO currently 
has a database of 171 animal disease experts, almost all 
veterinarians; of these, 27 are personally known to Lubroth 
to be highly competent and have been slated as possible 
team leaders.   Officials from the Netherlands have also 
had discussions with FAO about establishing emergency 
response teams and have offered to train 30 specialists 
available and on call at FAO's disposal; these 30 experts 
will be added to FAO's database.  Presently, a Dutch 
veterinarian on loan to FAO for six months is working to 
develop this international roster. 
 
¶11.  Next steps in putting a global emergency response 
capability in place with FAO coordination:  FAO is willing 
to organize a small meeting the week of March 6 to develop 
a concrete proposal for the emergency response 
mechanism(s).  This would probably be followed by a larger 
meeting with major donors to take whatever decisions are 
necessary to implement the framework.  Outside participants 
for the initial meeting will probably comprise of APHIS 
representatives, including Administrator Ron DeHaven, as 
well as representatives from the Netherlands veterinary 
service and the European Commission. 
 
¶12.  Action request:  USMISSION UN ROME would like a 
USDA/Washington go-ahead to work with FAO to set up a 
planning meeting the week of March 6 to be followed by a 
larger emergency coordination meeting at a date TBD.  We 
recognize Dr. DeHaven is charged with developing an FAO 
strategy paper and would expect these meetings to be fully 
consistent with that strategy. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Other Updates 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶13.  Following is a synopsis of related issues also 
mentioned by Lubroth: 
 
--  During the February 16 meeting with Nabarro, he asked 
that FAO send to him all documents, reports and research it 
produces as well as rumors it is tracking on possible 
outbreaks as these come out because all FAO predictions 
have been accurate to date. 
 
--  Egypt, which has the highest concentration of 
veterinarians per capita in the world, would be interested 
in collaborating on joint projects with the U.S. and the 
Netherlands.  The Egyptian experts' Arabic language skills 
would be useful. 
 
--  The World Bank is pushing FAO to do an AI assessment on 
Ethiopia.  FAO sees a more immediate need in Syria. 
 
--  Although Bangladesh has strong veterinary services, it 
and Myanmar are at high risk for current outbreaks. 
 
¶14.  USMISSION UN ROME will continue to cover and widely 
disseminate information on FAO activities to combat and 
control Avian Influenza. 
 
Hall