VZCZCXRO4623
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTA #0353/01 3040311
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 310311Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7474
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DTRA CT WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//ATSD-NCB-CD-TR//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//ASD-ISP/TSP-CP/CTR//
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000353 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S/GAC KARINA RAPPOSELLI 
USAID FOR E&E/DGST PAUL HOLMES E&E/EA BOB WALLIN GH/HIDN/ID CHERI 
VINCENT 
DTRA FOR CTB 
NSC FOR M.A. HAYWARD 
 
E.O. 12958: N.A. 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KHIV PINR CASC TSPL KZ
SUBJECT: NEW HEALTH MINISTER CALLS FOR CONTINUED COOPERATION 
 
REF: ASTANA 2051 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In his introductory meeting with newly appointed 
Minister of Health Anatoliy Dernovoy, the Ambassador reaffirmed that 
close cooperation in the health sector remains an important Embassy 
priority.  Dernovoy reacted positively, stating that he hopes for 
continued collaboration.  Dernovoy, who replaced Yerbolat Dosayev as 
Minister of Health after 76 children in Shymkent were infected with 
HIV due to an unsafe blood supply and poor transfusion practices, 
said that Kazakhstan is committed to ensuring that its blood centers 
meet international standards.   The Ambassador informed Dernovoy 
that two of the infected children from Shymkent were adopted by 
Americans, and that one of the adopting families was criminally 
denied necessary information about the health of their child. 
Turning to DTRA health-related projects, Minister Dernovoy asked his 
staff to help expedite a long-delayed strain transfer.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2. (U) The Ambassador, accompanied by Embassy representatives from 
USAID, CDC, and DTRA, told newly appointed health minister Anatoliy 
Dernovoy during their introductory meeting on October 28 that the 
USG values the close relationship it has established with the 
Ministry of Health.   The Ambassador, noting the excellent 
partnership between the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and 
Kazakhstan, told Dernovoy that post hoped to get funding to create a 
new regional center for disease control in Kazakhstan.  Dernovoy 
thanked the Ambassador for the USG's long history of support.  He 
added that he hopes that the cooperation will continue, even if USG 
funding decreases. 
 
------------------------------------- 
HIV/AIDS: Preventing Future Outbreaks 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) HIV/AIDS was a primary topic of discussion; Dernovoy 
replaced Yerbolat Dosayev as Minister of Health after one of 
Kazakhstan's worst-ever health tragedies, an HIV/AIDS outbreak in 
Shymkent in which 76 children were infected as a result of poor 
blood safety and infection control practices (reftel).  CDC Director 
for Central Asia Michael Favorov summarized CDC efforts in Shymkent. 
 He told Dernovoy that he is confident that the outbreak has been 
localized.  According to Favorov, all children in the targeted risk 
group have been tested and the rate of new incidence should not 
exceed five percent. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Dernovoy acknowledged that Kazakhstan blood safety and 
security practices need to improve.  The recent inspection of all 
Kazakhstan blood centers has demonstrated that the facilities are in 
poor shape and badly equipped, he said.  Kazakhstan's 2007-2008 
health program, according to Dernovoy, will address these issues in 
order to ensure that Kazakhstani blood centers meet international 
standards.  He also noted that the Ministry of Health will release a 
statement affirming that all necessary steps have been taken in 
Shymkent to prevent the further spread of HIV/AIDS and that the 
deaths of eight HIV-infected children was caused by pre-existing 
conditions and not by AIDS. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
HIV-Positive Children Adopted by American Citizens 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that American citizens have adopted 
two of the children infected with HIV.  In one of the cases, the 
child's infection was not revealed to the adopting parents.  They 
were instead told that the child was in good health, even though the 
child had tested positive for HIV.  The Ambassador called the 
actions criminal and gave to Minister Dernovoy materials connected 
with the case. 
 
-------------------- 
USAID Health Program 
-------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Kerry Pelzman, USAID Central Asia Director of Health and 
Education, described the role of USAID's ZdravPlus II program in 
assisting to develop and implement Kazakhstan's 2004 State Program 
for Health Reform and Development.  She also highlighted USAID's 
support for Kazakhstan's tuberculosis control programs, including 
multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.  The Ambassador assured Dernovoy 
that these projects will remain key priorities for the Embassy, 
despite a likely reduction in funding. 
 
ASTANA 00000353  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
------------------------------ 
DTRA Programs, Strain Transfer 
------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Ambassador then briefed Dernovoy on Defense Threat 
Reduction Agency's (DTRA's) heightened focus on health sector 
projects.  The ambassador pointed out that a plague strain transfer 
between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the 
Kazakh Scientific Center for Quarantine and Zoonotic Disease 
(KSCQZD) has been long delayed due to a misperception that the U.S. 
Government had not performed work under the Biological Threat 
Reduction program (BTRP).  He said that the USG has taken several 
steps to demonstrate its commitment,   including the construction of 
a laboratory for the Ministry of Agriculture in Astana. 
 
¶8. (SBU) DTRA Office Chief Laura Smiley also urged the Minister to 
help facilitate the strain transfer, noting that the project had 
been delayed for two years, and that it was not a DOD program, but a 
collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services and KSCQZD. Anatoliy Belonog (Chief 
Sanitary-Epidemiological Doctor for GOK) said that a political 
decision regarding specifically export licenses must be made on the 
strain transfer and that he would brief the Minister.  The 
Ambassador reminded Belonog that Minister of Industry and Trade 
Vladimir Shkolnik had promised during Senator Lugar's August visit 
to facilitate any export license applications that would be 
submitted.  Dernovoy asked Belonog to expedite the paperwork. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Smiley informed Dernovoy that the Joint Requirements 
Implementation Plan (JRIP) for the BTRP was still awaiting 
Kazakhstani government signature.  (Note: the JRIP is a non-binding 
agreement between USG and GOK acknowledging roles and 
responsibilities for the BTRP.) Belonog replied that additional 
interagency coordination was required on the 2007 schedule. 
Dernovoy instructed Belonog to ensure that an updated plan would be 
ready for signature by the time the U.S. BRTP team arrives in 
mid-December.  Belonog asked Smiley to participate in upcoming 
meetings with the interagency working group in November to ensure 
that all JRIP edits and comments would be passed to the USG team 
before their visit.  Smiley mentioned that the U.S. Government was 
on track to award several laboratory construction contracts in the 
coming months, including Almaty, Uralsk, and Kyzylorda.  She asked 
that the Ministry of Health expedite its decision regarding the U.S. 
Government's request to build a joint veterinary-human 
epidemiological monitoring station in Kyzylorda.  Minister Dernovoy 
asked Belonog brief him on the topic after the meeting. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Biographical Note: Anatoliy Dernovoy served as Director of 
the Presidential Medical Center from 1996 to 2006.  He previously 
served as Deputy Minister of Health and State Chief Sanitary Doctor 
(1994 - 1996) and Chief Sanitary Doctor of Almaty Oblast 
(1991-1994).  Dernovoy was born in Karaganda in 1951 and holds a PhD 
in Medical Sciences from the Karaganda Medical Institute. 
 
ORDWAY