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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001876 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/IPA, NEA/RA, OES/IHA AND OES/PCI 
HHS FOR NIH/FOGARTY CENTER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO PREL KPAL KWBG IS XF XD ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SUBJECT: AGAINST THE ODDS, MIDDLE EAST CANCER CONSORTIUM 
EXTENDING ITS REACH 
 
REF: 05 AMMAN 9166 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. 
 
Consulate General Jerusalem cleared this cable. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The Middle East Cancer Consortium is extending 
its reach and adding attendees from additional countries to its 
activities.  Independent Palestinian health professionals remain 
eager to participate in MECC conferences and courses while PA 
officials are off-limits.  Member countries have begun providing 
in-kind contributions and NGOs are also supplementing USG 
financial support for MECC.  Turkey, the newest MECC member, is 
looking to utilize MECC to expand cancer cooperation with nations 
to its east.  The Israeli executive director is planning tenth 
anniversary commemorations in Israel this fall.  End summary. 
 
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MECC Weathers Post-Hamas Transition 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Middle East Cancer Consortium Executive Director 
Professor Michael Silbermann met with the Ambassador May 8 to 
report on recent MECC developments.  MECC meetings and courses 
took place in Ankara in April.  There were participants in Ankara 
from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Qatar and Iraq in addition to 
MECC member countries Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus, the U.S. and 
the host, Turkey.  Egyptian doctors presented a course in Ankara 
on cancer epidemiology and biostatistics. 
Consistent with the USG contact policy for the Palestinian 
Authority and OFAC regulations, PA Ministry of Health officials 
were ineligible for USG funding for travel to the conference (and 
all USG funding for the Palestinian Cancer Registry, which falls 
under the PA Health Ministry, has been suspended).  As a result, 
PA officials did not attend the Ankara meetings. Silbermann 
provided names and other personal data for vetting by Consulate 
General Jerusalem of independent Palestinian health professionals 
looking to participate in a June MECC activity in Larnaca, Cyprus 
focused on cancers in children.  The annual MECC Ministerial 
Steering Committee Meeting normally takes place on the margins of 
the World Health Assembly in Geneva, scheduled for later this 
month, and is chaired by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human 
Services.  Given the restrictions on contact with the PA, HHS has 
already informed Silbermann that the Steering Committee Meeting 
will be postponed. 
 
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Finally, Not Totally Dependent on U.S. for Funding 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Funding has been an ongoing challenge for MECC over its 
10-year history.  Turkey covered hosting costs in Ankara, and 
Cyprus will do the same for the upcoming meeting in Larnaca. 
These in-kind contributions are finally beginning to fulfill the 
provision in the MECC charter stating that all members will play 
their part in sustaining the organization financially. Until 
recently, almost all financial support had come from the USG. 
The Israeli Cancer Society and the Turkish Hope for Good Health 
Foundation will cover air fares for their country's participants 
in Larnaca.  The American Cancer Society will cover air fares for 
the Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian participants.  Silbermann 
said that MECC may be able to sponsor certification courses in 
the future to raise additional funds for MECC.  The Ambassador 
noted the potential for Israeli and Egyptian doctors to work 
together to develop and present such courses. 
 
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Turkey Very Proactive 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Turkey, MECC's newest member, has been eager to assist 
Silbermann in extending MECC's reach.  The GOT MOH is interested 
in involving Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, other countries of 
the former Soviet Union, Afghanistan and Pakistan in MECC 
activities.  The Turkish MFA discouraged Silbermann from 
responding positively to an invitation from the Kurdistan (Iraq) 
MOH to host a MECC activity in Arbil. The GOI and the GOT are 
positive, though, about more general Iraqi participation in MECC 
activities.  The Pakistani Cancer Society has offered to host 
MECC in Karachi.  Silbermann is meeting with the Director of the 
GOI MFA Center for International Cooperation (MASHAV) to seek 
funding for future events in Israel, but also to check whether 
GOI security restrictions would prevent Israeli participation in 
Karachi.  The Tunisian MOH has also expressed interest in hosting 
MECC activities. 
-------------------------------------------- 
Commemorative Activities in Israel this Fall 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Silbermann told the Ambassador he envisioned holding 
commemorative activities in Israel later this year to celebrate 
MECC's tenth anniversary.  The Ambassador readily agreed to host 
a dinner or small reception in honor of the occasion and to help 
open a conference in which experts from MECC countries and other 
invited participants could present papers.  A recent NCI report 
based on data from MECC cancer registries in Cyprus, Egypt, 
Israel and Jordan could also be presented at the conference. 
Silbermann believes he can obtain funding from private 
foundations to bring about 35 participants to Israel.  The 
Ambassador noted that there are outstanding Israeli medical 
institutions that would likely be willing to support the 
commemorative gathering, and which could add to the draw of the 
gathering for cancer experts considering attending. 
 
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The Fight Against Cancer in the Middle East 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Silbermann agreed that rising concerns about cancer and 
other health risks may begin to bring down smoking rates in the 
Middle East in the next five years.  He mentioned one 
particularly effective ad suggesting a link between smoking and 
impotence.  Awareness campaigns in the region are carried out by 
local cancer societies.  The Ambassador suggested MECC might do a 
comparative study of the effectiveness of those campaigns.  Early 
detection and willingness to receive treatment remains a problem 
among Arab populations, especially for breast cancers.  There 
appears to be both embarrassment and a sense of resignation about 
the disease, according to Silbermann.  Silbermann said these 
factors are complicated by the need for expert manual examination 
in addition to mammograms to increase early detection.  Regarding 
incidences of cancers in MECC countries, Silbermann said in 
Turkey there appeared to be a link between environmental factors, 
including asbestos, and lung cancer.  In Egypt, bladder cancers 
were more common, linked to water supplies.  In Israel, the 
incidence of breast cancer among Jewish women was approaching one 
in seven. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Silbermann noted that Ramban Hospital near Haifa served 
a third of Israel's population in cancer treatments, including 
almost all of the country's Arab population.  The hospital has 
many well-trained Arab doctors and nurses on its staff. 
Silbermann said that ethnic Arab health practitioners had 
garnered positive attention from Israel's Jewish majority and 
from medical institutions in the Gulf.  Many Jews prefer Arab 
doctors, he said, because "they still see medical care as a 
mission" and will visit with their patients in the afternoon, 
while their Jewish counterparts head off to their private 
practices following morning hospital rounds.  Silbermann said 
that medical facilities in the Emirates and Qatar, in particular 
a new medical center in Abu Dhabi affiliated with Johns Hopkins, 
are interested in recruiting Arab Israeli nurses.  He also said 
he knew of two Iraqi doctors interested in doing specialty 
training in Haifa. 
 
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MECC On The Move 
---------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment:  The fight against cancer is compelling.   MECC 
is making clear progress, both in extending its reach and 
garnering financial support.  The proactive Israeli executive 
director is building MECC's credibility and reputation despite 
obstacles arising from recent political events in the region. 
End comment. 
 
JONES