US embassy cable - 05ACCRA1900

UNCLAS ACCRA 001900 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, EAID, ECON, KSCA, PREL, SOCI, TBIO, GH, health 
SUBJECT: GHANA SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP ON 
AVIAN INFLUENZA 
 
REF: A. STATE 164134 
 
     B. STATE 153802 
 
Summary 
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1. (SBU) On September 15, Charge delivered Ref A points on 
seeking Ghanaian participation in an international 
partnership on Avian Influenza to Deputy Minister of Foreign 
Affairs Kwasi Osei-Adjei and Deputy Minister of Health Sam 
Owusu-Agyei.  Deputy Foreign Minister Osei-Adjei promised to 
coordinate closely with the health services and also agreed 
to pass the points to President Kufuor's staff.  Deputy 
Health Minister Owusu-Agyei assured that Ghana would 
participate in efforts to monitor and combat Avian Influenza, 
but noted that Ghana has insufficient resources to mitigate 
effectively a potential outbreak.  The U.S. Naval Medical 
Research Unit (NAMRU) in Ghana has agreed to provide support 
and coordinate on setting up a national influenza center in 
Ghana.  End Summary. 
 
Avian Influenza Demarche Delivered 
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2. (SBU) On September 15, Charge Jerry Lanier, EconChief 
Chris Landberg, and Dr. Gregory Raczniak, Officer in Charge 
of NAMRU in Ghana, met with Deputy Health Minister 
Owusu-Agyei and Public Health Director Dr. George Amofah to 
urge GoG support for U.S. initiatives on Avian Influenza. 
(Note: Charge also provided a non-paper based on Ref B points 
on addressing the threat of Avian Influenza, which Post 
delivered as a diplomatic note August 23, 2005.  End Note). 
 
3. (SBU) Charge separately delivered the same points and 
background material to Deputy Foreign Minister Osei-Adjei, 
urging political-level support for the Avian Influenza 
partnership.  Osei-Adjei said he would convey the points to 
President Kufuor's party, at that time in New York City 
attending the UN meeting.  He also agreed to liaise with the 
Health Ministry and other health services to emphasize the 
importance of monitoring Avian Influenza and also to 
encourage international cooperation. 
 
Health Ministry Issues and NAMRU Support 
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4. (SBU) Although Deputy Health Minister Owusu-Agyei and 
Public Health Director Amofah were supportive of the concept 
of an international partnership to combat Avian Influenza, 
they said their major challenge was a lack of resources. 
Owusu-Agyei noted the huge burden of fighting disease on 
countries like Ghana, and said the GoG had insufficient 
resources even to provide effective surveillance of any 
potential outbreak.  He concluded that Ghana would need 
outside support to initiate preventative actions, beyond mere 
surveillance and detection. 
 
5. (SBU) NAMRU OIC Dr. Raczniak briefed Owusu-Agyei and Dr. 
Amofah on the resources available to them (possibly including 
simple surveillance equipment) through the Naval Medical 
Research Unit No. 3 in Cairo, Egypt.  Raczniak stated that 
the DoD Global Emerging Infectious Disease Surveillance 
system (GEISS) has collaborated with the WHO and over 60 
Ministries of Health across Asia, Eastern Europe and Middle 
East in setting up national influenza centers.  The NAMRU3 
surveillance network has been working with Health Ministries 
in Africa to establish a similar collaborative effort, and 
Dr. Raczniak recommended establishing a center in Ghana.  He 
noted that one important aspect of this network is 
information sharing, with NAMRU3 receiving diagnostic 
samples, isolates and aggregated epidemiological information 
to fulfill the GEISS and WHO goals.  Owusu-Agyei and Dr. 
Amofah eagerly welcomed the initiative.  Dr. Raczniak agreed 
to coordinate the project with Dr. Amofah and the Ghanaian 
surveillance unit. 
LANIER