VZCZCXRO3792
OO RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
DE RUEHCG #0033/01 0291047
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 291047Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1441
INFO RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA IMMEDIATE 0076
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2938
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 0894
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 5169

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 CHENNAI 000033 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ECON TBIO SENV AMED KSCA PHUM KCRM SOCI IN
SUBJECT:  HHS SECRETARY SWINGS THROUGH SOUTH INDIA 
 
CHENNAI 00000033  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The Honorable Michael O. Leavitt, U.S. Secretary 
of Health and Human Services (HHS), visited three of South India's 
largest cities from January 7-9, 2008.  The visit provided the 
Secretary an opportunity to promote the importance of assuring 
 
SIPDIS 
product safety in an increasingly complex global marketplace.  The 
visit also promoted HIV/AIDS awareness, discussed trafficking in 
persons, and encouraged regulatory reform.  The Secretary's visit 
was well-received, and both regional and national press gave it 
extensive coverage.  End Summary. 
 
----------------- 
DAY ONE:  CHENNAI 
----------------- 
 
Talking Safety with India's Health Minister 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) India's Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. 
Anbumani Ramadoss, accompanied Secretary Leavitt to all of the 
January 7 events in Chennai, and the two held a formal meeting to 
discuss cooperation on product safety.  Ramadoss explained that the 
Secretary's message of promoting systems and standards to assure the 
 
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safety of exports from India to the United States was arriving at an 
opportune moment, when the Health Ministry is promoting structural 
changes to India's regulatory structure.  Various portions of this 
reform are currently wending their way through the Indian 
parliament.  He thanked the U.S. Government (specifically, HHS and 
the Embassy's Health Attache) for the support and advice it has 
provided, noting that it was extremely helpful as he tried to both 
increase the capacity of India's health system and restructure his 
Ministry's regulatory role. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Secretary Leavitt applauded the Minister's reform efforts, 
and noted that an increasingly robust global marketplace requires a 
readjustment in the way all countries look at product safety. 
Emphasizing that he was not just directing his message towards 
India, Secretary Leavitt said the country's current efforts at 
reform provided an excellent opportunity to work cooperatively with 
the United States to develop tools useful not only at a bilateral 
level, but also in a global context.  The Secretary also proposed 
that his Department and India's Health Ministry create a 
Ministerial-level Working Group to develop a keener understanding of 
the relevant problems and propose solutions.  Ramadoss heartily 
endorsed this idea, and agreed that the members of this group -- or 
groups -- begin meeting within six months. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Secretary Leavitt and Ramadoss also discussed avian 
influenza (AI), and emphasized the importance of international 
cooperation.  Leavitt thanked Ramadoss for India's continuing 
commitment to provide samples from human and avian cases of 
influenza, and Ramadoss reiterated his intention to work with the 
United States and other partners to monitor the threat posed by the 
H5N1 virus. 
 
Promoting Better Health, Fighting HIV/AIDS 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (U) Secretary Leavitt focused on health care and life sciences 
during his day-long visit to Chennai.  At the Government Hospital 
for Thoracic Medicine (GHTM), one of India's premiere publicly 
operated facilities for treating HIV-positive patients, the 
Secretary met with staff and clients, and he learned about the 
 
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facility's capabilities and challenges.  Hospital staff showed the 
Secretary a copy of the "Follow-Up Counseling Toolkit" -- a 
 
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compilation of charts, videos, and other information newly developed 
by the HHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for counselors 
to use in advising HIV-positive patients.  The Secretary also 
learned more about the hospital's use of peer counselors and the 
importance of providing same-day reporting of test results, an 
important factor for patients who travel long distances to reach the 
hospital.  The Secretary also saw other hospital facilities, 
including the pharmacy, laboratory, and pediatric center. 
 
¶6. (U) Continuing the theme of HIV prevention, the Secretary later 
spoke at Chennai's Loyola College at the public release of a new 
curriculum developed with U.S. Government technical assistance.  The 
"Celebrating Life" publication, intended for college-age audiences, 
teaches advisors and trainers skills for prevention, including how 
 
CHENNAI 00000033  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and dispel various myths about 
HIV/AIDS.  The Red Ribbon Club (RRC), an innovative organization for 
college students supported by the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control 
Society (TNSACS) and HHS/CDC under the President's Emergency Plan 
for AIDS Relief, hosted the curriculum's public launch, and became 
the first organization to adopt the new curriculum.  The launch 
ceremony included a group of RRC students who performed an energetic 
skit designed to help youngsters learn techniques for saying "no" to 
various unhealthy activities, including smoking, illegal drugs, 
alcohol, and promiscuous sex. 
 
Supporting Collaboration in the Life Sciences 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) hosted a seminar 
in Chennai on Indo-U.S. collaboration in the life sciences, health 
sciences, and public health, an event co-sponsored with Apollo 
Hospitals, India's first corporate chain of high-quality hospitals. 
Secretary Leavitt emphasized the importance of scientific 
 
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collaboration to the 400-member crowd of (mainly) medical 
professionals, and noted that hundreds of Indian scientists are 
engaged in collaboration and training every year with HHS.  He also 
spoke in favor of the Indian Government's plans to establish 
regulatory institutions modeled on the HHS Food and Drug 
Administration as a way of providing more efficient protection for 
consumers and building regulatory partnerships between the two 
countries. 
 
------------------- 
DAY TWO:  HYDERABAD 
------------------- 
 
Promoting Pharmaceutical Safety 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) In a city known for the strength of its pharmaceutical 
sector, on January 8, 2008, Secretary Leavitt visited two of 
Hyderabad's most prominent companies, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) 
and Bharat Biotech Indian, Limited (BBIL).  At DRL, Secretary 
Leavitt toured the pharmaceutical production facility and learned 
about the company's product portfolio, which consists largely of 
generics and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), but will soon 
include biosimilars (drugs that mimic the design and effect of 
branded biotech drugs).  Secretary Leavitt also discussed the 
company's quality-and safety-assurance programs with Dr. K. Anji 
Reddy, the company's Chairman.  At BBIL, which produces a wide 
variety of vaccines, including an innovative rabies vaccine that it 
developed in partnership with HHS/CDC, the Secretary emphasized the 
importance of biotech product safety and the protection of 
intellectual-property rights. 
 
Encouraging the Chief Minister to Support Pharma Safety 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Secretary Leavitt reinforced his message to the private 
sector during a meeting with Andhra Pradesh's Chief Minister, the 
Honorable Y. S. R. Reddy, that also included several other top State 
officials.  The Secretary emphasized that the quality and safety of 
pharmaceutical products is critical for both Indian and American 
consumers and producers.  He also stressed that a science-based 
regulatory environment encourages safety, while creating an 
effective platform for trade that benefits India, the United States, 
and other trading partners. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Chief Minister Reddy noted the emphasis his Government 
places on health, and noted that 82 percent of his State's 
population is poor or low-income and needs government assistance to 
obtain health services.  He briefed the U.S. Delegation on a 
recently launched insurance scheme, the Aarogyasri Health-Care 
Trust, which aims to provide health insurance to those who cannot 
afford it.  Reddy invited U.S. and other foreign investors to 
explore opportunities to invest in "super-specialty hospitals," 
especially in the State's second-tier cities. 
 
Combating Trafficking in Persons 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Secretary met representatives of four different 
 
CHENNAI 00000033  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) based in and around Hyderabad 
that help combat trafficking in persons (TIP).  Secretary Leavitt 
thanked the representatives for their work on this issue, and 
emphasized that combating TIP is an important policy of the 
President and his entire Administration.  The NGO representatives 
told the Secretary that the problem appears to be growing, but that 
it is difficult to obtain precise metrics.  Traffickers are often 
family members, community leaders, politicians, or even school 
teachers, but linkages between traffickers are usually informal, and 
not in the nature of organized crime.  When asked about the Indian 
Government's efforts to combat TIP, the consensus of the NGO 
representatives was that the Government has improved significantly 
in this area over the past few years, but that much more needs to be 
done. 
 
------------------ 
DAY THREE:  KERALA 
------------------ 
 
Emphasizing port security 
----------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) On January 9, 2008, Secretary Leavitt visited Cochin, an 
international spice-exporting hub in the State of Kerala, to promote 
HHS's efforts to ensure the safety of food imported into the United 
States.  The Secretary inspected the port of Cochin, one of India's 
12 "national ports," through which flows a substantial amount of 
spices and seafood bound for the United States.  The port's Chairman 
told Secretary Leavitt that he is "extremely conscious" of the 
importance of security, and noted that he recently chaired a 
Government of India committee on port security.  As Secretary 
Leavitt toured the port by boat, the Chairman also explained plans 
for expansion of the port in an arrangement with Dubai Ports World, 
which manages the port's container facility. 
 
Promoting Food Safety 
--------------------- 
 
¶12. (U) Secretary Leavitt later visited two major players in 
Cochin's spice industry, Synthite Industrial Chemicals and AVT 
McCormick.  Synthite is one of the world's leading manufacturers of 
natural, spice-derived products, including spice oleoresins, 
essential oils, and food colorings.  AVT McCormick, half-owned by 
Baltimore-based McCormick Spices, is a major producer of sterilized 
spices, and exports more than forty percent of its production to the 
United States.  Both Synthite and AVT McCormick place a major 
emphasis on traceability from the original raw material (usually 
spices or peppers) to the final finished product.  At both 
manufacturing facilities, Secretary Leavitt saw bar codes or tags 
placed on each package to identify the batch, location, and 
producers of the spices used to make each product.  Synthite 
executives told the Secretary that their customers -- the 
international flavor companies that then mix Synthite's products and 
sell to major food processors -- "demand traceability" for all of 
their products.  AVT McCormick's executives echoed the comments the 
Secretary heard from Synthite, saying "traceability is key" in the 
 
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market. 
 
¶13. (U) The companies' emphasis on food safety is not limited to 
ensuring traceability.  Secretary Leavitt watched AVT McCormick 
employees load U.S.-bound containers with crates of spices.  AVT 
McCormick's General Manager told the Secretary that they load the 
containers at their own facility to ensure there is no tampering. 
She added that they recently began video monitoring of the loading 
dock to enhance security.  At both Synthite and AVT McCormick, 
Secretary Leavitt inspected the companies' onsite labs to test the 
 
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safety of products. 
 
Striving for a new safety paradigm 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶14. (U) Throughout his visit to South India, Secretary Leavitt 
engaged the press to emphasize the importance of protecting both 
American and Indian consumers from unsafe products.  In Kerala, 
Secretary Leavitt told the press that he was visiting India "because 
 
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it is my responsibility to ensure the people of the United States 
have safe and effective food, drugs, and medical products," a 
message he emphasized repeatedly throughout his visit.  He added 
 
CHENNAI 00000033  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
that "the United States imports more than two trillion dollars worth 
of goods every year.  These goods come from 800,000 vendors to more 
than 300 different ports of entry."  Secretary Leavitt explained it 
is no longer possible to inspect every container to stop dangerous 
products from entering the United States because of the enormous 
flow of goods into the country.  In this "networked world," he said, 
we need new strategies such as "ensuring quality is built into every 
step of the production process" no matter where it occurs. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) Secretary Leavitt's visit received positive coverage 
throughout the duration of his trip, and his willingness to open 
much of the visit to press coverage resulted in fairly accurate 
reporting, which is not always a given.  Government officials, 
educational institutions, business organizations, and private 
companies all rolled out the red carpet, and participated eagerly in 
the visit.  The Secretary's message of promoting safer products for 
both Indians and Americans appears to resonate with a wide audience. 
 End Comment. 
 
¶16. (U). The HHS delegation cleared this cable. 
 
HOPPER