US embassy cable - 05HANOI2609

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 002609 
 
SIPDIS 
 
BANGKOK FOR USAID/RDM-A 
 
 
STATE FOR G; CA/OCS/ACS/EAP; EAP/EX; EAP/BCLTV; EAP/EP; INR; 
OES/STC (PBATES); OES/IHA (DSINGER AND NCOMELLA) 
BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC, USAID/RDM/A (MFRIEDMAN) 
USDA FOR FAS/PASS TO APHIS 
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA/AP (LSTERN) 
USAID FOR ANE AND GH (DCAROLL, SCLEMENTS AND PCHAPLIN) 
STATE PASS USTR (ELENA BRYAN) 
STATE ALSO PASS HHS/OGHA (EELVANDER) 
ROME FOR FAO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMED, AMGT, CASC, EAGR, PINR, SOCI, PGOV, TBIO, VM, AFLU 
SUBJECT: Ambassador Discusses AI with Vice Minister of 
Health 
 
REFTEL: A) STATE 164134 B) STATE 153802 
 
1.  Summary: The Ambassador met with Ministry of Health 
(MOH) Vice Minister Trinh Quan Huan on September 7 to 
reiterate USG concerns over Vietnam's Avian and Pandemic 
Influenza (AI) preparedness planning.  Huan was recently 
appointed as the lead official on AI at the Ministry of 
Health (MOH).  The Ambassador stressed that stopping AI will 
require a global partnership, and expressed USG pleasure at 
Vietnam's participation in the International Partnership on 
Avian and Pandemic Influenza (IPAPI).  Huan confirmed that 
Vietnam's emergency preparedness plan has been submitted to 
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, and said that he would provide 
a copy to the Ambassador when it has been approved.  Vietnam 
now needs donor assistance to increase surveillance capacity 
to identify the first human-to-human transmission if it 
occurs, the VM declared.  The Ambassador outlined the issues 
that the USG will raise at the IPAPI conference, and 
summarized U.S. AI assistance plans to the region.  End 
Summary. 
 
Reinforcing the Message 
----------------------- 
 
2.  The Ambassador used his first formal meeting with 
Ministry of Health (MOH) Vice Minster Trinh Quan Huan to 
reiterate U.S. concerns over AI preparedness planning (ref 
A).  Huan was recently appointed as the lead official 
responsible for AI at the MOH.  The Ambassador reminded Huan 
that President Bush had highlighted the danger of an AI 
pandemic in his speech to the UN General Assembly, where he 
called for the creation of International Partnership on 
Avian and Pandemic Influenza, since stopping the H5N1 flu 
virus will require cooperation on a global level. 
 
International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza 
(IPAPI) 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
3.  The United States is pleased that Vietnam has decided to 
join the IPAPI and that it will send two representatives to 
the first IPAPI meeting in Washington.  It is regrettable, 
however, that the MOH could not send a representative, the 
Ambassador noted. 
 
4.  IPAPI members will be discussing a number of important 
issues at the meeting.  The United States is particularly 
concerned about the need for information sharing and 
transparency, since any efforts to stop a pandemic will fail 
in the absence of a timely response.  The potential for both 
animal and human outbreaks greatly complicates the AI issue, 
and the United States and other donors are prepared to help. 
The United States recognizes that there are social and 
economic as well as health consequences to an AI outbreak, 
and believes there is need to plan effective interventions 
in these areas.  The United States is also interested in 
exploring the feasibility and resources required to contain 
outbreaks, ways to engage the private sector, and how to 
move forward to produce and distribute vaccines and 
antivirals. 
 
Vietnam's Emergency Preparedness Plan 
------------------------------------- 
 
5.  Vietnam recognizes that AI is a global problem of great 
urgency, the Vice Minister said.  To deal with this problem, 
the GVN has established a national steering committee to 
stop AI, which is chaired by the Minister of Agriculture and 
Rural Development's (MARD) Minister Cao Duc Phat.  Ministry 
of Health Minister Tran Thi Trung Chien is the ranking 
standing member of the committee.  The committee has 
submitted an Emergency Preparedness Plan, which was drafted 
in consultation with the WHO and FAO, to Prime Minister Phan 
Van Khai for approval. 
 
6.  The Ambassador responded that he has been aware of the 
work on the Emergency Preparedness Plan, and that it has 
been described as "quite good and almost complete" by his UN 
and WHO contacts.  Having the plan in hand would be very 
helpful as donors finalize assistance plans.  The plan is 
also of great interest to HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt, who 
is coming to Vietnam next week with a high-level delegation 
including Department of State Undersecretary Dobriansky, CDC 
Director Gerberding, and NIAID Director Fauci, to focus on 
AI issues. 
 
7.  The Vice Minister promised to send the Ambassador a copy 
of the plan when it is approved, and added that the MOH is 
already formulating its own national AI action plan.  Right 
now, Vietnam needs donor assistance to increase surveillance 
capacity to identify the first human-to-human transmission 
if it occurs, he said. 
 
U.S. Assistance 
--------------- 
 
8.  The U.S. Congress has appropriated a USD 25 million 
regional AI assistance package, the Ambassador explained. 
The plan will focus on assistance with early detection and 
warning of AI outbreaks; appropriate responses to those 
outbreaks; promoting public awareness and education; and 
supporting Vietnam's national AI vaccination campaign.  As a 
first step, the USG will soon announce a USD 2 million 
allocation to the FAO office in Vietnam for supplies and 
technical assistance on the poultry vaccination campaign. 
This will be followed with assistance to strengthen public 
education programs, an important component of the campaign, 
since public support and understanding is essential.  The 
last large component will be HHS and CDC support for 
enhancing Vietnam's laboratories. 
 
9.  Because the assistance plan has not been finalized, 
exact funding levels are unavailable, the Ambassador noted. 
However, the sum will be substantial.  The Vice Minister 
thanked the Ambassador for U.S. assistance to Vietnam and 
other countries in the region. 
 
Biographic information on Vice Minister Trinh Quan Huan 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
10.  Trinh Quan Huan was named Vice Minister in July 2005, 
and was given responsibility for the Administration of 
Preventive Medicine at MOH.  He took over the AI portfolio 
last month.  He has held various positions in this 
department since 1995.  Huan holds a PhD in Epidemiology and 
an MD from the Hanoi Medical School.  He speaks some English 
and Russian. 
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
 
MARINE