US embassy cable - 04ABUJA112

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000112 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USAID/W FOR AFR/WA, MICHAEL KARBELING 
AF/W:LJOHNSTON 
AF/W:DEPSTEIN 
OES/STC:JROTTIER 
DHHS/OS/OGHA:LHOFFMAN 
LAGOS FOR ADMIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO, OTRA, US, GH, NI, MI, TZ 
SUBJECT:  DEPUTY SECRETARY CLAUDE ALLEN, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF 
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, MEETING WITH PRESIDENT OBASANJO 
 
REF: NONE 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. Deputy Secretary Claude Allen, U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services, and a delegation from the African Development 
Foundation (ADF) and the U.S. Mission met with President Olusegun 
Obasanjo on January 18th to discuss major health threats of polio 
and HIV/AIDS and to introduce the ADFs expanded program in 
Nigeria.  The meeting was cordial and relaxed, although the 
President appeared somewhat ill-informed about the current status 
of both viruses in Nigeria. End Summary. 
 
2. Charge?Rick Roberts opened the January 18th meeting with 
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo by referring to the close 
working relationship, cooperation and shared values between the 
United States and Nigeria.  He also thanked the African 
Development Foundation (ADF) for arranging the meeting with 
President Obasanjo and emphasized the United States' appreciation 
for the open dialogue with the Government of Nigeria, 
particularly on issues of policy reform, conflict management and 
regional integration. 
 
3. In his introduction of Deputy Secretary Allen, the Charge 
highlighted the importance of Secretary Allen's visit to Nigeria 
at a time of great challenge for Nigeria which is facing the twin 
threats of HIV/AIDS and polio.  He reiterated the United States 
commitment to assisting Nigeria and strengthening the partnership 
that exists between the two countries.  He stated that HIV/AIDS 
represents a major security threat to the region as Nigeria is 
projected to be one of five countries in the next wave of the 
epidemic, and that the increase in polio cases over the past year 
had a deleterious impact on the health status of Nigerian 
children and children in the region. 
 
4. Deputy Secretary Allen focused his remarks on the two-fold 
nature of his visit to Nigeria representing the United States 
through the Department of Health and Human Services, the single 
largest USG agency; and, as a member of the board of directors, 
to introduce the African Development Foundation, which is 
expanding its activities in Nigeria. 
 
5. Deputy Secretary Allen committed the United States to a 
stronger partnership and friendship with Nigeria in eradicating 
polio.  With Nigeria having half of the worlds remaining cases of 
the virus, and the spillover from Nigeria to neighboring 
countries, the potential impact in the region is a major 
international health concern. 
 
6. Mr. Allen congratulated President Obasanjo for his 
leadership on raising HIV/AIDS as a serious issue for Nigeria and 
the African continent and which requires concerted policy 
initiatives and partnerships to address.    The deputy secretary 
singled out the National Action Committee on Aids (NACA) as a 
strong and committed partner working closely with the United 
States to implement the Presidents Emergency Plan for Aids Relief 
(PEPFAR) in Nigeria.  Mr. Allen pledged greater USG support to 
assist Nigeria in building capacity in the public and private 
sectors to address this looming epidemic. 
 
7. USAID and ADF made brief presentations, thanking the 
president for his continued support and commitment to their 
programs.  The president was particularly interested in the ADF 
program of supporting community development of 400 houses for 
low-income families in Jigawa state.  The President asked several 
questions concerning the selection of the state and the grass- 
roots approach used to build community capacity and ownership of 
the project. 
 
8. The President was very relaxed and engaged during the 
meeting.  He was clearly pleased to see William Ford, past 
President of ADF and a member of the delegation.  The president 
and Mr. Ford joked easily with each other and discussed their 35 
year friendship which began during Mr. Fords tenure as USAID 
mission director, 1972-77. 
 
9. The President spoke openly about polio and believes that a 
"purely health issue" has become politicized by some religious 
leaders.  He indicated that he must tread carefully given the 
belief by some in the north that the vaccine contains harmful 
substances.  He mentioned that a learned Islamic professor has 
been helpful in dispelling the myths surrounding the vaccine, but 
that more advocacy is needed.  The President stated that he 
believes that Nigeria will be able to meet the 2005 target of 
polio eradication. 
 
10. The President reaffirmed the need to raise awareness of 
HIV/AIDS.  He is trying to assess the current status of HIV/AIDS 
in Nigeria, but believes that, although the prevalence rate of 
5.8 percent has not dropped, the exponential increase has been 
arrested.  He was surprised when he learned that the prevalence 
rate in many rural areas is as high as or higher than the rate in 
some urban areas.   He recognizes that sexually active youth, 
particularly young men, represent the largest cohort responsible 
for spreading the virus, and that working with the private sector 
is required to ensure provision of  anti-retroviral drugs to  the 
largest number of people living with aids. 
 
11. The Presidents final comments focused on the need to further 
strengthen democracy, even within his own political party.  He 
mentioned that they "can't do enough" in this area and mentioned 
that, although the national labor congress is threatening a 
strike on Wednesday, January 24th as a result of the fuel 
increases, they must continue to engage in dialogue to resolve 
the issue. 
 
12. The 45 minute meeting was cordial and open.  The President 
seemed somewhat ill-informed when discussing the health issues of 
polio and HIV/AIDS and espoused the government line of everything 
being under control.  However, polio cases have doubled in less 
than a year and resistance from the north has not abated.  The 
president also seemed to be less familiar with the HIV/AIDS 
situation.  Although Nigerias prevalence rate of 5.8 percent is 
considered low, but under reported, the issue is the absolute 
numbers of HIV positive people which stands around 4 million. 
This is the third highest number of infections on the continent 
and without immediate efforts to mount a coordinated and 
comprehensive HIV/AIDS response, these numbers are likely to 
double within the next ten years. 
 
13. Following the meeting and in discussion with Embassy 
officers, Deputy Secretary Allen recommended that the USG fully 
support international efforts to arrest the polio virus.  He has 
offered to consult with HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson to secure 
his support for UNICEF to take the lead in assembling noted 
Islamic scholars and health practitioners to engage the Nigerian 
religious and community leaders on this growing problem. 
Secretary Thompson has also sent a letter to the Minister of 
 
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Health urging Nigeria to focus on polio eradication.  The U.S. 
Mission will follow-up with his office as part of a larger 
strategy (see septel) to address polio. 
 
ROBERTS.