VZCZCXRO0805
RR RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHRH #1417/01 3000505
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 270505Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1777
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 001417 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, OES/STC 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO HHS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO SENV ECON SCUL PREL SA
SUBJECT: SAUDI HEALTH MINISTER LAUDS CDC, CALLS FOR BROADER 
COOPERATION WITH U.S. 
 
REF: RIYADH 1045 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Saudi Minister of Health is very 
pleased with ongoing cooperation with the U.S. Center for 
Disease Control (CDC), which is working on a three-stage 
program to protect the health of Hajj visitors and improve 
the Kingdom's ability to track and respond to outbreaks of 
infection (e.g., H1N1).  The Minister hopes that Saudi Arabia 
can build on this cooperation to conclude a broader MOU with 
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which will 
also help the Kingdom improve its ability to conduct leading 
edge medical research.  The Minister also put in a strong 
pitch for increased medical and administrative training in 
the United States, which he said is important in maintaining 
political ties.  End Summary. 
 
CDC Cooperation: 
- - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2. (SBU) On October 20, Saudi Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah 
Al-Rabeeah thanked Ambassador Smith for the strong bilateral 
cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to 
prepare for the onset of the Hajj and the challenge of 
guarding against outbreaks of infectious diseases, 
particularly H1N1.  There will be two CDC experts in Riyadh, 
three in Jeddah, and four more coming as Hajj gets under way. 
 The minister was particularly appreciative of mobile medical 
surveillance systems, which will be piloted in Makkah during 
the Hajj and expanded across the country afterward.  This 
will give the Ministry a much clearer picture of who is 
getting infected and what their symptoms are, which will 
allow it to make more informed decisions to mitigate the 
spread of infectious diseases. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The CDC project has three phases: to pilot; 
fine-tune; and deploy a 21st century disease surveillance 
system for use during the Hajj and beyond.  For the first 
time, the national communication base and hospitals will be 
using the same platform, employing cutting-edge technology. 
This system will be deployable to other countries, and will 
offer bilingual information for doctors. 
 
H1N1: 
- - - 
 
¶4. (SBU) Al-Rabeeah was cautiously optimistic that the 
Kingdom was prepared to carry out the Hajj without a serious 
outbreak of H1N1.  He noted that, in many ways, Ramadan was a 
tougher test, as it takes place over a longer period of time 
and people tend to concentrate in close proximity for longer 
periods of time during evenings, compared to Hajj. 
Al-Rabeeah was satisfied with the relatively low outbreak 
level during Ramadan (local papers report 47 people 
contracted H1N1 during Ramadan).  Al-Rabeeah expressed 
concern that some developing countries may not have 
sufficient capacity to protect their pilgrims.  To cope with 
this eventuality, Saudi Arabia has assembled a team of its 
own specialist doctors, working with CDC units and 45 private 
doctors specialized in critical care and infectious diseases. 
 They have also set up several additional critical care 
units, and distributed diagnostic kits and medicines to four 
separate labs in Makkah and Jeddah. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Al-Rabeeah said the Ministry is working to set up a 
medical research center in Makkah (King Abdullah Medical 
City), which will focus on Hajj-related diseases with the 
goal of devising guidelines to prevent future infections, in 
part by mapping the sources of various diseases.  As an 
interim step, the Kingdom has set up regional knowledge 
centers that coordinate weekly with the Ministry's 
headquarters to monitor health threats.  The Ministry is 
expanding a system the Minister initially set up in the Saudi 
Arabian National Guard. 
 
Research a Priority: 
- - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶6. (SBU) Al-Rabeeah said the King is particularly keen to 
improve U.S.-Saudi health collaboration.  In that regard, the 
Minister said it was very important to conclude an MOU with 
HHS that included cooperation with the NIH and CDC. 
Al-Rabeeah is actively seeking research partnerships with 
international institutions, which is important in improving 
the Kingdom's long-term capacity to manage public health 
challenges. The Kingdom is opening more research facilities, 
such as the King Abdullah Medical Research Center in Makkah 
 
RIYADH 00001417  002 OF 002 
 
 
and a large laboratory in Riyadh, which will be finished 
within a year.  Al-Rabeeah stressed the importance of 
partnering with U.S. institutions to ensure that Saudi 
researchers were adequately trained. 
 
¶7. (SBU)   Saudi Arabia's needs are immense, as the 
government is building 117 hospitals and 1,040 primary health 
care centers.  Al-Rabeeah lamented that Saudi Arabia lacks 
sufficient manpower to staff these facilities, both on the 
medical and administrative sides.  The minister noted that, 
30 years ago, most Saudis received training in the United 
States.  This has atrophied over the years and now more than 
300 Saudi doctors are trained in France and Canada each year, 
compared to just 9 in the U.S.  He noted that there is a 
strong link in Saudi Arabia between political and medical 
culture, and stressed that he wants as many Saudi health 
professionals as possible to get medical and administrative 
training in the United States. 
 
Women's Health: 
- - - - - - - - 
 
¶8. (SBU) Al-Rabeeah is dedicating significant time to improve 
women's health in Saudi Arabia, particularly on prevention 
and early diagnosis of diseases such as breast cancer.  He is 
placing greater emphasis on primary health centers, ensuring 
that they all have child and maternal health units. 
Al-Rabeeah noted that he recently appointed the Ministry's 
first female Director General, in charge of nursing. 
 
Reform: 
- - - - 
 
¶9. (SBU) Al-Rabeeah noted his ministry has been working hard 
over the last six months with Harvard University on a 
proposal to reform the Saudi health care system, and he and 
his senior deputies recently presented a strategy to the 
King.  If it is approved, the minister said he will look to 
U.S. institutions to help Saudi Arabia realize its ambitious 
plans.   Medical centers in Detroit and Cleveland have 
invited Health Ministry officials to upcoming conferences, 
which may lead to partnership agreements.  (Note: Delos 
Cosgrove, the CEO of Cleveland Clinic, will participate in 
the Global Competitiveness Forum in Jeddah, January 23-26. 
End note) 
 
Bio Note: 
- - - - - 
 
¶10. (SBU) Al-Rabeeah still maintains his clinical practice, 
centered on child and maternal health.  He also spends 
significant time delivering lectures, including upcoming 
events in Germany and Switzerland.  He was previously the 
Chief Operating Officer at the Saudi Arabian National Guard's 
Health Agency, where he focused on instituting programs to 
improve health surveillance as a means to prevent the 
outbreak of disease among Saudi troops.  He speaks fluent 
English. 
SMITH